The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, surging more than 400 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 29,250-point plateau although investors are expected to lock in gains on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit taking expected after showing strength earlier in the week. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials, oil companies and insurance stocks.
For the day, the index jumped 203.25 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 29,253.66 after trading between 29,144.17 and 29,339.11.
Among the actives, Li & Fung plummeted 4.74 percent, while Ping An Insurance surged 4.20 percent, Kunlun Energy soared 3.87 percent, China Life spiked 1.87 percent, Lenovo Group jumped 1.40 percent, AIA Group advanced 0.88 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) climbed 0.72 percent, New World Development shed 0.53 percent, Sands China lost 0.50 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.48 percent, Galaxy Entertainment added 0.32 percent, CNOOC gained 0.18 percent, Hong Kong and China Gas eased 0.13 percent and Belle International was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks gave ground on Tuesday after climbing to record highs in the previous session.
The Dow dipped 37.45 points or 0.15 percent to 24,754.75, while the NASDAQ slid 30.91 points or 0.44 percent to 6,963.85 and the S&P 500 fell 8.69 points or 0.32 percent to 2,681.47.
Profit taking contributed to the weakness on Wall Street, as traders cashed in on the strength seen in recent sessions. Selling pressure was subdued, however, as House Republicans voted to approve the first major tax reform legislation in decades.
The approval of the legislation comes even though recent polls show a majority of Americans disapprove of the bill. Republicans claim that the bill will lead to stronger economic growth, while Democrats argue the legislation will give tax cuts to the wealthy at the expense of the middle class.
In economic news, the Commerce Department noted an unexpected increase in housing starts in November. Housing starts jumped 3.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.297 million in November from a revised 1.256 million in October. Economists had expected housing starts to drop by 3.7 percent.
Crude oil futures nudged higher Tuesday amid mixed signals on global production next year. OPEC says it will continue to curb production in an effort to re-balance oil markets, but U.S. shale output may surge. WTI light sweet crude oil was up 31 cents at $57.47 a barrel.
by RTT Staff Writer
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