Lower Open Called For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last seven trading days since the end of the five-day losing streak in which it plummeted almost 1,450 points or 7 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 20,900-point plateau although it's tipped to open in the red again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with weakness expected especially from the oil and technology stocks ahead of the FOMC rate decision later today. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are predicted to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials, properties, casinos and technology stocks.

For the day, the index surged 342.94 points or 1.67 percent to finish at 20,905.88 after trading between 20,631.82 and 20,952.45.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group surged 4.82 percent, while Alibaba Health Info increased 1.36 percent, ANTA Sports added 1.09 percent, China Life Insurance collected 1.37 percent, China Mengniu Dairy plunged 3.15 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) jumped 2.23 percent, China Resources Land spiked 3.63 percent, CITIC advanced 1.70 percent, CNOOC rallied 2.35 percent, Country Garden skyrocketed 7.71 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical was up 0.36 percent, Galaxy Entertainment strengthened 1.86 percent, Hang Lung Properties gained 0.85 percent, Henderson Land increased 0.55 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas dipped 0.12 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.73 percent, JD.com climbed 1.78 percent, Lenovo lost 0.40 percent, Li Ning improved 1.41 percent, Longfor soared 3.70 percent, Meituan gathered 1.33 percent, New World Development rose 0.76 percent, Techtronic Industries tumbled 1.54 percent, Xiaomi Corporation added 0.62 percent and WuXi Biologics accelerated 2.85 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained in the red throughout the day, ending near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 228.50 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 31,761.54, while the NASDAQ plunged 220.09 points or 1.87 percent to close at 11,562.57 and the S&P 500 dropped 45.79 points or 1.15 percent to end at 3,921.05.

The weakness on Wall Street also came as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later today. The Fed is widely expected to announce another 75 basis point rate hike as part of its efforts to combat elevated inflation.

In corporate news, Walmart came under pressure after lowering its guidance for the second quarter and full year due to pricing actions aimed to improve inventory levels. Auto giant General Motors (GM) also moved to the downside after reporting Q2 earnings that missed estimates.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department said new home sales pulled back by more than expected in June. Also, the Conference Board said consumer confidence in the U.S. deteriorated by more than expected in of July.

Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday, weighed by an announcement from the Biden administration about more sales from the national oil reserve to fight inflation at the pump. The dollar's rebound from recent losses also contributed the drop in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $1.72 or 1.8 percent at $94.98 a barrel.