(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last eight trading days since ending the two-day slide in which it had fallen almost 700 points or 2.7 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 26,050-point plateau although it may see mild upside on Tueday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed, with geopolitical concerns expected to war with bargain hunting. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.
For the day, the index plunged 570.69 points or 2.14 percent to finish at 26,059.85 after trading between 25,882.95 and 26,403.85.
Among the actives, Alibaba Group plunged 4.55 percent, while Alibaba Health Info retreated 3.76 percent, ANTA Sports shed 2.47 percent, China Life Insurance declined 3.42 percent, China Mengniu Dairy stumbled 3.96 percent, China Resources Land slid 1.64 percent, CITIC fell 2.16 percent, CNOOC surged 5.61 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical slumped 3.23 percent, Galaxy Entertainment surrendered 3.93 percent, Haier Smart Home lost 2.25 percent, Hang Lung Properties tanked 4.19 percent, Henderson Land slipped 1.69 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas eased 0.66 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China gave up 1.55 percent, JD.com contracted 2.97 percent, Lenovo dropped 2.67 percent, Li Auto was down 1.09 percent, Li Ning sank 2.49 percent, Meituan plummeted 4.62 percent, New World Development cratered 6.91 percent, Nongfu Spring skidded 2.87 percent, Techtronic Industries dipped 1.65 percent, Xiaomi Corporation crashed 5.04 percent and WuXi Biologics tumbled 3.68 percent.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened lower on Monday but gradually came back and hugged the line for the rest of the day, ending mixed.
The Dow sank 73.14 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 48,904.78. while the NASDAQ gained 80.65 points or 0.36 percent to close at 22,748.86 and the S&P 500 rose 2.74 points or 0.04 percent to end at 6,881.62.
Early selling pressure was generated in reaction to the news that the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran over the weekend, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The subsequent turnaround came as traders used the initial sell-off as an opportunity to pick up stocks at reduced levels after the Dow hit its lowest intraday level in two months.
In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing a slight slowdown in the pace of growth in U.S. manufacturing activity in the month of February.
Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Monday amid concerns about supply disruptions due to the conflict in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery surged $4.08 or 6.1 percent to $71.10 a barrel.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
