More Pain Predicted For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Tuesday wrote a finish to the three-day winning streak in which it had spiked more than 710 points or 3.7 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 20,010-point plateau and it's likely to open in the red again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with oil and technology stocks likely to lead the way lower. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the financials and properties, while the technology companies were mixed.

For the day, the index sank 67.82 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 20,011.12 after trading between 19,891.81 and 20,331.28.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group and CK Infrastructure both added 0.36 percent, while Alibaba Health Info rallied 1.09 percent, ANTA Sports declined 2.19 percent, China Life Insurance lost 0.59 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tanked 3.74 percent, China Resources Land retreated 1.80 percent, CITIC fell 0.57 percent, CNOOC climbed 1.11 percent, Country Garden plunged 4.33 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rose 0.15 percent, Galaxy Entertainment stumbled 1.06 percent, Hang Lung Properties plummeted 6.61 percent, Henderson Land slumped 1.67 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas gained 0.30 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was down 0.53 percent, JD.com dropped 1.00 percent, Lenovo skidded 1.45 percent, Li Ning tumbled 3.62 percent, Meituan slid 0.55 percent, New World Development shed 0.94 percent, Techtronic Industries surged 2.56 percent, Xiaomi Corporation and Haier Smart Home both sank 0.98 percent and WuXi Biologics jumped 1.13 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and finished the same way.

The Dow advanced 71.15 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 35,630.68, while the NASDAQ sank 62.11 points or 0.43 percent to close at 14,283.91 and the S&P 500 fell 12.23 points or 0.27 percent to end at 4,576.73.

The modest weakness on Wall Street may partly have reflected profit taking, as some traders looked to cash in on the strong gains posted last month.

Overall trading activity remained somewhat subdued, however, as traders continued to look ahead to Friday's closely watched monthly jobs report.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity contracted for the ninth consecutive month in July. Also, the Commerce Department said construction spending rose slightly less than expected in June.

Crude oil futures ended lower on Tuesday thanks to a firm dollar and data showing a slowdown in global manufacturing activity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $0.43 at $81.37 a barrel.