Higher Open Anticipated For Hong Kong Shares

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has climbed higher in two straight sessions, rallying more than 235 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 19,660-point plateau and it's expected to open to the upside again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support again expected from the oil and technology sectors. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index collected 87.06 points or 0.44 percent to finish at 19,663.67 after trading between 19,522.59 and 19,758.57.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group slumped 1.22 percent, while Alibaba Health Info rose 0.53 percent, ANTA Sports increased 1.06 percent, China Life Insurance perked 0.26 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rallied 1.56 percent, CITIC strengthened 1.58 percent, CNOOC advanced 0.70 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical improved 1.17 percent, Haier Smart Home was up 0.18 percent, Hang Lung Properties gathered 0.47 percent, Henderson Land jumped 1.63 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas and Li Ning both collected 0.50 percent, JD.com fell 0.15 percent, Lenovo gained 0.56 percent, Li Auto surged 3.00 percent, Meituan accelerated 1.72 percent, New World Development climbed 1.41 percent, Nongfu Spring spiked 2.23 percent, Techtronic Industries added 0.58 percent, Xiaomi Corporation tumbled 1.74 percent, WuXi Biologics soared 2.29 percent and China Resources Land, Galaxy Entertainment and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic after the major averages opened lower on Tuesday, although the NASDAQ and S&P 500 managed to finish in the green.

The Dow slumped 120.66 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 43,268.94, while the NASDAQ rallied 195.66 points or 1.04 percent to close at 18.987.47 and the S&P added 23.36 points or 0.40 percent to end at 5,916.98.

The early weakness on Wall Street came amid concerns about escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia over the war in Ukraine.

After President Joe Biden gave Ukraine permission to attack Russian territory using U.S.-made long-range missiles, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree amending the country's nuclear doctrine.

Selling pressure waned shortly after the start of trading, however, with an advance by shares of Nvidia (NVDA) helping lead the turnaround by the NASDAQ. Nvidia will release Q3 results later today.

Oil futures settled higher on Tuesday amid the rising possibility of supply disruptions after Ukraine launched long-range U.S. made missiles to hit a facility in Russia's Bryansk region. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December rose $0.23 or about 0.3 percent at $69.39 a barrel.