Hong Kong Bourse Likely To Remain Rangebound

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day losing streak in which it had lost more than 55 points or 0.2 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 19,690-point plateau although it may tick higher again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with technology stocks expected to lead the markets higher. The European and U.S. markets were mostly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index lost 71.98 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 19,688.29 after trading between 19,627.84 and 19,851.55.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group lost 0.54 percent, while ANTA Sports declined 1.05 percent, China Life Insurance fell 0.43 percent, China Mengniu Dairy skidded 0.97 percent, China Resources Land tumbled 1.34 percent, CITIC slumped 1.04 percent, CNOOC added 0.63 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical shed 0.65 percent, Galaxy Entertainment dropped 0.91 percent, Haier Smart Home retreated 1.33 percent, Hang Lung Properties jumped 1.17 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas eased 0.16 percent, JD.com rallied 1.12 percent, Lenovo rose 0.31 percent, Li Auto stumbled 1.77 percent, Li Ning gained 0.38 percent, Meituan tanked 1.95 percent, New World Development dipped 0.40 percent, Nongfu Spring plummeted 3.42 percent, Techtronic Industries sank 0.79 percent, Xiaomi Corporation perked 0.14 percent, WuXi Biologics plunged 2.35 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Alibaba Health Info, Henderson Land and ENN Energy Holdings were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mostly upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Monday and largely remained that way, although the Dow dipped into the red by the day's end.

The Dow shed 25.57 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 42,706.56, while the NASDAQ rallied 243.30 points or 1.24 percent to close at 19,864.98 and the S&P 500 added 32.91 points or 0.55 percent to end at 5,975.38.

The early rally on Wall Street reflected continued strength among tech stocks after contract electronics giant Foxconn reported record fourth quarter revenue amid strong AI server demand.

Early buying interest was also generated in reaction to reports suggesting President-elect Donald Trump may scale back his tariff plans.

Crude oil prices were unable to hold early gains on Monday, snapping a five-day winning streak - although the downside was capped after top oil exporter Saudi Arabia raised prices for Asian buyers for the first time in three months. West Texas Intermediate Crude for February delivery fell $0.46 or 0.5 percent to $73.50 a barrel.