The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, spiking more than 1,150 points or 4.5 percent in that span. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 27,470-point plateau although it's due for consolidation on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian is soft, with several regional bourses ripe for profit taking, while an uptick in coronavirus cases may fuel the weak sentiment. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the technology stocks and properties, while the financials were mixed and the casinos were soft.
For the day, the index climbed 241.68 points or 0.89 percent to finish at 27,472.81 after trading between 27,079.24 and 27,502.83.
Among the actives, Xiaomi Corporation skyrocketed 6.17 percent, while AIA Group surged 3.74 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China plummeted 3.58 percent, Techtronic Industries soared 3.35 percent, ANTA Sports spiked 3.34 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties accelerated 3.30 percent, China Resources Land plunged 3.12 percent, Alibaba tanked 2.15 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rallied 2.14 percent, BOC Hong Kong jumped 2.13 percent, AAC Technologies climbed 2.07 percent, Hengan International gathered 2.00 percent, New World Development perked 1.94 percent, CLP advanced 1.88 percent, CNOOC sank 1.81 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical and Wharf Real Estate both added 1.73 percent, Power Assets gained 1.67 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas rose 1.04 percent, Galaxy Entertainment and CITIC both strengthened 0.91 percent, Ping An Insurance lost 0.74 percent, Meituan fell 0.68 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical increased 0.63 percent, WuXi Biologics was up 0.39 percent, Sands China slid 0.29 percent and China Life Insurance was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as stocks shook off a steady start on Monday and headed sharply lower as the day progressed, cutting into recent gains.
The Dow tumbled 382.59 points or 1.25 percent to finish at 30,223.89, while the NASDAQ dropped 189.83 points or 1.47 percent to end at 12,698.45 and the S&P 500 sank 55.42 points or 1.48 percent to close at 3,700.65.
Upward momentum to start the New Year contributed to the initial strength on Wall Street, although buying interest waned shortly after the open. The subsequent pullback partly reflected profit taking after the Dow and the S&P 500 reached new record intraday highs.
Traders also were reluctant to push stocks higher amid uncertainty ahead of two key Senate runoffs in Georgia later today. Their outcome will determine which party controls the Senate and could have a major impact on what President-elect Joe Biden is able to accomplish.
The sharp pullback reflected concerns about the recent spike in coronavirus cases in several parts of the world, with a new strain of the virus being detected in the U.S. for the first time. Other countries, including the United Kingdom and Japan, are taking strong lockdown measures.
On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department reported a continued increase in construction spending in November.
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