Mild Recovery Seen For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market turned lower again on Monday, one session after ending the two-day slide in which it had dropped more than 575 points or 2.2 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 25,925-point plateau although it may tick higher again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is unclear amid uncertainties surrounding the conflict in the Middle East. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished slightly lower on Monday as losses from the financials and properties were offset by support from the oil and technology shares. For the day, the index sank 52.42 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 25,925.65 after trading between 25,858.24 and 26,086.02. The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed on Monday and hugged the line throughout the session before ending on oppositive sides.

The Dow sank 62.92 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 49,167.79, while the NASDAQ climbed 50.50 points or 0.20 percent to close at 24,887.10 and the S&P 500 rose 8.83 points or 0.12 percent to end at 7,173.91.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves amid a lack of clarity about the situation in the Middle East after U.S.-Iran peace talks stalled over the weekend.

Traders are also likely to keep an eye on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision scheduled for Wednesday. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, the central bank's accompanying statement may provide clues about the outlook for rates.

Crude oil prices soared on Monday after the proposed U.S.-Iran negotiations were called off by the U.S. as supply disruption concerns continue. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $2.32 or 2.46 percent at $96.72 per barrel. Closer to home, Hong Kong will see March figures for imports, exports and trade balance later today. In February, imports were up 29.9 percent on year and exports rose an annual 24.7 percent for a trade deficit of HKD64.2 billion.