Hong Kong Stock Market Predicted To Head South Again On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Monday wrote a finish to the three-day slide in which it had slumped more than 750 points or 3.8 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 20,160-point plateau although it's looking at a soft start again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation amid concerns over growth and sinking oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were slightly lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished barely higher on Monday following mixed performances from the oil and technology stocks, while the properties were down.

For the day, the index rose 9.33 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 20,165.84 after trading between 19,883.92 and 20,251.43. Among the actives, Alibaba Group tanked 3.76 percent, while Alibaba Health Info shed 0.85 percent, ANTA Sports added 0.58 percent, China Life Insurance fell 0.51 percent, China Mengniu Dairy slumped 1.10 percent, China Resources Land retreated 1.22 percent, CITIC lost 0.59 percent, CNOOC and Hengan International both rose 0.40 percent, Country Garden plummeted 9.95 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical tumbled 2.21 percent, Galaxy Entertainment sank 0.86 percent, Hang Lung Properties plunged 5.60 percent, Henderson Land dipped 0.37 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas sided 1.09 percent, JD.com gained 0.51 percent, Lenovo surrendered 1.92 percent, Li Ning surged 2.83 percent, Longfor spiked 1.72 percent, Meituan soared 2.10 percent, New World Development slipped 0.19 percent, Techtronic Industries eased 0.06 percent, Xiaomi Corporation declined 1.62 percent, WuXi Biologics dropped 1.01 percent and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up mildly negative as the major averages opened lower on Monday and bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before finally ending slightly in the red.

The Dow shed 45.95 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 32,799.18, while the NASDAQ fell 21.71 points or 018 percent to close at 12,368.98 and the S&P 500 dipped 11.67 points or 0.28 percent to end at 4,118.62.

Worries about slowing growth weighed on sentiment, but fairly encouraging corporate earnings updates helped limit market's downside.

In addition, investors are looking ahead to the crucial non-farm payroll data due later in the week.

In economic news, the S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI was revised slightly lower in July, while the Commerce Department said U.S. construction spending fell more than expected in June. Also, the Institute for Supply Management's Manufacturing PMI was down slightly in July but not as much as feared.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Monday amid concerns about outlook for energy demand and ahead of this week's OPEC+ meeting. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $4.73 or 4.8 percent at $93.89 a barrel. Closer to home, Hong Kong will release June figures for retail sales later today; in May, sales were down 4.9 percent on year.