Soft Start Called For Hong Kong Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, collecting more than 310 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 19,930-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on concerns over interest rates and possible recession. The European and U.S. markets were firmly lower and the Asian markets are tipped to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Tuesday as gains from the technology and entertainment stocks were capped by weakness from the financials and properties.

For the day, the index rose 39.21 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 19,933.81 after trading between 19,761.13 and 20,286.46.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group advanced 0.30 percent, while Alibaba Health Info and CNOOC both dropped 1.25 percent, ANTA Sports plunged 2.89 percent, China Life Insurance declined 1.46 percent, China Mengniu Dairy slumped 1.43 percent, China Resources Land sank 0.82 percent, CITIC spiked 1.73 percent, Country Garden plummeted 4.58 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical tumbled 1.50 percent, Galaxy Entertainment surged 2.16 percent, Hang Lung Properties skidded 1.26 percent, Henderson Land added 0.18 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas climbed 0.43 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.47 percent, JD.com jumped 1.69 percent, Lenovo soared 2.00 percent, Li Ning tanked 2.06 percent, Meituan lost 0.38 percent, New World Development retreated 1.44 percent, Techtronic Industries rallied 0.71 percent, Xiaomi Corporation fell 0.36 percent and WuXi Biologics rose 0.11 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower and moved deeper into the red as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 367.17 points or 1.08 percent to finish at 33,684.17, while the NASDAQ sank 132.09 points or 1.08 percent to end at 12,080.51 and the S&P 500 dropped 48.29 points or 1.16 percent to close at 4,119.58.

The sell-off on Wall Street came as some traders looked to cash in on recent strength in the markets ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later today.

With the Fed widely expected to raise interest rates by another 25 basis points, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates.

Concerns about lawmakers' struggles to reach an agreement on raising the U.S. debt ceiling also weighed on Wall Street. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the Treasury might run out of money to cover obligations by June 1.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured goods increased more than expected in March. Also, the Labor Department showed job openings in the U.S. fell more than expected in March.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Tuesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand amid fears of a potential recession in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $4.00 or 5.3 percent to $71.66 a barrel, the lowest close since March 24.