The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, surging almost 385 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 24,540-point plateau although investors figure to cash in on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on doubts for stimulus to combat the rising number of coronavirus cases. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financials, casinos and technology and insurance stocks.
For the day, the index advanced 155.47 points or 0.64 percent to finish at 24,542.26 after trading between 24,478.47 and 24,771.85.
Among the actives, Xiaomi Corporation plummeted 4.10 percent, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China surged 3.62 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical plunged 2.93 percent, AAC Technologies soared 2.52 percent, WuXi Biologics tanked 2.05 percent, CNOOC spiked 1.79 percent, WH Group accelerated 1.64 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas rallied 1.44 percent, Sands China jumped 1.28 percent, Alibaba climbed 1.09 percent, China Life Insurance collected 1.08 percent, China Mengniu Dairy gathered 0.94 percent, Ping An Insurance perked 0.90 percent, New World Development advanced 0.53 percent, BOC Hong Kong added 0.47 percent, Techtronic Industries sank 0.38 percent, CITIC gained 0.34 percent, AIA Group lost 0.26 percent, China Resources Land fell 0.14 percent, Power Assets rose 0.12 percent, China Mobile eased 0.10 percent, Galaxy Entertainment was up 0.10 percent and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as stocks showed a lack of direction early in Monday's trade but headed firmly south as the day progressed.
The Dow tumbled 410.89 points or 1.44 percent to finish at 28,195.42, while the NASDAQ sank 192.67 points or 1.65 percent to close at 11,478.88 and the S&P 500 dropped 56.89 points or 1.63 percent to end at 3,426.92.
The weakness on Wall Street reflected concerns about whether lawmakers in Washington will reach an agreement on a new stimulus bill, with reports suggesting there remains an array of additional differences that must be addressed in a comprehensive manner in the next 48 hours.
In economic news, the National Association of Homebuilders said that homebuilder confidence climbed to a fresh record high in October versus expectations for no change.
Crude oil futures ended slightly lower on Monday, weighed down by lingering concerns about energy demand outlook due to rising coronavirus cases. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for November ended at $40.83 a barrel, down $0.05 or 0.1 percent at $40.83 a barrel.
Closer to home, Hong Kong will see September results for unemployment later today; in August, the jobless rate was 6.1 percent.
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