Losses May Accelerate For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Monday wrote a finish to the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 525 points or 2.6 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 20,215-point plateau although it's expected to open to the downside on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, thanks to concerns over tariffs and how they affect the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished slightly lower on Monday following losses from the financials and mixed performances from the properties and technology stocks.

For the day, the index slipped 7.85 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 20,217.26 after trading between 19,764.67 and 20,222.00.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group surged 6.46 percent, while Alibaba Health Info slumped 1.94 percent, ANTA Sports fell 0.24 percent, China Life Insurance dropped 1.11 percent, China Mengniu Dairy weakened 1.55 percent, China Resources Land tumbled 2.97 percent, CITIC slid 0.23 percent, CNOOC added 0.65 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical gained 0.45 percent, Galaxy Entertainment plummeted 5.86 percent, Haier Smart Home declined 1.95 percent, Hang Lung Properties skidded 1.46 percent, Henderson Land rallied 2.08 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas lost 0.34 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dipped 0.19 percent, JD.com surrendered 3.19 percent, Lenovo soared 5.92 percent, Li Auto plunged 5.71 percent, Li Ning retreated 2.87 percent, Meituan stumbled 3.98 percent, Nongfu Spring and New World Development both sank 0.96 percent, Techtronic Industries tanked 4.73 percent, Xiaomi Corporation shed 0.91 percent and WuXi Biologics rose 0.33 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened under water again on Monday and largely stayed that way, although they climbed up off session lows.

The Dow dropped 122.75 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 44,421.91, while the NASDAQ stumbled 235.49 points or 1.20 percent to close at 19,391.96 and the S&P 500 sank 45.96 points or 0.76 percent to end at 5,994.57.

Stocks moved sharply lower in early trading amid concerns about a global trade war after President Donald Trump officially imposed a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10 percent tariff on imports from China. Trump also threatened possible tariffs against the United Kingdom and the European Union, marking a significant escalation.

Canada and Mexico ordered retaliatory tariffs on American goods, while China vowed countermeasures. The EU also warned of firm retaliation if targeted.

Investors fear that a trade war could hit the earnings of major companies and dent global growth. The tariffs could also lead to renewed inflation fears, leading the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates on hold for longer.

Oil futures settled higher on Monday after Trump's imposed tariffs on imports from Canada threatened to disrupt North America's tightly integrated oil market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March settled at $73.16 a barrel, up $0.63 or about 0.87 percent.