The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions, sliding almost 1,000 points or 3.1 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just shy of the 29,450-point plateau although it may find traction on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive with continued bargain hunting on the docket after last week's brutal selloff. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The Hang Seng finished slightly lower on Monday as losses from the financials, oil companies and casinos were tempered by support from the property stocks and a mixed picture from the insurance companies.
For the day, the index sank 47.79 points or 0.16 percent to finish at the daily low of 29,459.63 after peaking at 29,801.52.
Among the actives, CNOOC plummeted 2.15 percent, while Lenovo Group plunged 2.01 percent, China Resources Land surged 1.65 percent, Sino Land soared 1.52 percent, BOC Hong Kong tumbled 1.21 percent, Galaxy Entertainment skidded 1.19 percent, AIA Group spiked 1.18 percent, China Life dropped 1.08 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China gave away 1.07 percent, WH Group advanced 0.93 percent, China Mengniu Dairy added 0.85 percent, China Mobile shed 0.80 percent, Tencent Holdings gained 0.54 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas lost 0.41 percent, New World Development picked up 0.36 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) slid 0.33 percent, Ping An Insurance collected 0.25 percent and CITIC was up 0.18 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as stocks moved mostly higher on Monday, adding to gains from the previous session as the major averages further offset steep losses from early last week.
The Dow soared 410.37 points or 1.70 percent to 24,601.27, while the NASDAQ jumped 107.47 points or 1.56 percent to 6,981.96 and the S&P surged 34.65 points or 1.39 percent to 2,656.00.
The strength on Wall Street came as traders continued to pick up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness, with the major averages climbing further off the two-month lows set last Thursday.
The major averages added to Friday's gains but remain well off their recent record highs. Trading activity remained subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping traders on the sidelines.
Crude oil futures inched higher Monday, but were unable to hold $60 a barrel despite a rebound for U.S. stocks. March WTI oil settled at $59.29/bbl, up 9 cents or 0.2 percent. Oil prices tumbled 10 percent last week as the EIA lifted its forecasts for 2018 and 2019 U.S. production.
by RTT Staff Writer
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