Hong Kong Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, rallying almost 800 points or 4.4 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 19,110-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement ahead of key inflation data later this week. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financials and properties and a mixed performance from the technology companies.

For the day, the index rallied 151.36 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 19,115.06 after trading between 18,827.60 and 19,123.48.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group surged 4.11 percent, while Alibaba Health Info increased 0.63 percent, ANTA Sports sank 0.66 percent, China Life Insurance climbed 1.73 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rose 0.24 percent, China Resources Land tumbled 2.18 percent, CITIC strengthened 1.82 percent, CNOOC tanked 2.44 percent, Galaxy Entertainment spiked 2.68 percent, Hang Lung Properties rallied 1.97 percent, Henderson Land advanced 1.41 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas improved 0.64 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.22 percent, JD.com jumped 2.13 percent, Lenovo gained 0.40 percent, Li Ning plummeted 3.59 percent, Meituan soared 3.12 percent, New World Development added 0.65 percent, Techtronic Industries accelerated 1.96 percent, Xiaomi Corporation fell 0.21 percent, WuXi Biologics plunged 3.55 percent and Country Garden and CSPC Pharmaceutical were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened higher on Monday but faded as the day progressed, ending mixed and little changed.

The Dow sank 81.33 points or 0.21 percent to finish at 39,431,51, while the NASDAQ gained 47.37 points or 0.29 percent to end at 16,388.24 and the S&P 500 eased 1.26 points or 0.02 percent to close at 5,221.42.

The early strength on Wall Street came as stocks continued to benefit from renewed optimism about an interest rate cut by Federal Reserve in the coming months.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as key inflation data due this week could have a significant impact on the outlook for rates.

Oil prices advanced on Monday amid expectations about the outlook for demand after OPEC decided to extend supply cuts into the second half of the year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.86 at $79.12 a barrel.