The Hong Kong stock market has tracked lower in consecutive trading days, tumbling almost 500 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 28,310-point plateau although it's expected to rebound on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on easing concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Tuesday as losses from the properties and casinos were offset by support from the oil companies.
For the day, the index sank 179.24 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 28,309.76 after trading between 28,299.66 and 28,579.00.
Among the actives, AAC Technologies and China Resources Land both sank 0.60 percent, while AIA Group was up 0.05 percent, Alibaba Group retreated 1.17 percent, Alibaba Health Info increased 0.24 percent, ANTA Sports advanced 1.73 percent, China Mengniu Dairy declined 0.98 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) soared 3.54 percent, CITIC rose 0.37 percent, CNOOC jumped 2.77 percent, Country Garden Services climbed 2.58 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rallied 2.83 percent, Galaxy Entertainment plunged 3.16 percent, Hang Lung Properties dipped 0.10 percent, Henderson Land dropped 0.40 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas surged 3.75 percent, Longfor added 1.17 percent, Meituan tanked 2.98 percent, New World Development gained 0.74 percent, Sands China tumbled 2.73 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties shed 0.25 percent, Techtronic Industries spiked 2.88 percent, Xiaomi Corporation plummeted 3.22 percent, WuXi Biologics skidded 1.67 percent and China Life Insurance and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks opened slightly lower on Tuesday but quickly turned positive and picked up steam as the day progressed.
The Dow added 68.61 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 33,945.58, while the NASDAQ jumped 111.79 points or 0.79 percent to end at 14,253.27 and the S&P 500 gained 21.65 points or 0.51 percent to close at 4,246.44.
The strength that emerged on Wall Street was partly attributed to a significant rebound by the value of bitcoin - which turned higher over the course of the trading day after the cryptocurrency tumbled below $30,000 earlier in the day.
The higher close by stocks also came as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell continued to downplay the risks of inflation during testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.
In economic news. the National Association of Realtors released a report showing existing home sales extended a recent pullback in May but fell by less than economists had expected.
Crude oil futures settled lower on Tuesday, weighed down by speculation that OPEC and its allies will agree to increase crude production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down $0.60 or 0.8 percent at $73.06 a barrel on the expiration day. WTI Crude oil futures for August, the new front-month contract, fell $0.27 or 0.4 percent at $72.85 a barrel.
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