Hong Kong Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Monday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 800 points or 4.5 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 18,000-point plateau although it's likely to bounce higher again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Monday with damage across the board, especially among the financials, properties and technology stocks.

For the day, the index tumbled 277.44 points or 1.52 percent to finish at 18,015.94 after trading between 17,946.49 and 18,243.39. Among the actives, Alibaba Group skidded 2.23 percent, while Alibaba Health Info declined 2.42 percent, ANTA Sports retreated 2.43 percent, China Life Insurance shed 2.13 percent, China Mengniu Dairy slipped 1.63 percent, China Resources Land tumbled 2.70 percent, CITIC slumped 2.39 percent, CNOOC was down 1.53 percent, Country Garden slid 1.76 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical fell 1.94 percent, Galaxy Entertainment lost 1.99 percent, Hang Lung Properties gave up 1.57 percent, Henderson Land sank 2.14 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas dipped 1.68 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was down 0.67 percent, JD.com plunged 4.73 percent, Lenovo and Haier Smart Home both stumbled 2.32 percent, Li Ning plummeted 4.93 percent, Meituan dropped 2.22 percent, New World Development surrendered 3.01 percent, Techtronic Industries added 0.63 percent, Xiaomi Corporation weakened 2.26 percent and WuXi Biologics tanked 3.32 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday and stayed that way throughout the session to hit fresh record closing highs in somewhat choppy trade.

The Dow rallied 210.82 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 40,211.72, while the NASDAQ gained 74.12 points or 0.40 percent to close at 18,472.57 and the S&P 500 rose 15.87 points or 0.28 percent to end at 5,631.22.

The support on Wall Street was due largely to comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who said that the central bank will not wait until inflation hits 2 percent to cut interest rates.

On the economic front, a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed regional manufacturing activity contracted at a slightly faster rate in July.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Monday, weighed down by weighed down by political uncertainty following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and weak economic data from China. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for August ended down $0.30 at $81.91 a barrel.