(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 600 points or 2.2 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 25,635-point plateau and it's likely to extend its losses on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit taking expected ahead of the end of the year. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the technology stocks and properties.
For the day, the index sank 183.70 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 25,635.23 after trading between 25,630.75 and 26,082.94.
Among the actives, Alibaba Group slumped 1.85 percent, while Alibaba Health Info eased 0.19 percent, ANTA Sports sank 1.71 percent, China Life Insurance lost 1.13 percent, China Mengniu Dairy retreated 2.18 percent, China Resources Land declined 2.09 percent, CITIC added 0.50 percent, CNOOC rose 0.19 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical tumbled 2.28 percent, Galaxy Entertainment tanked 2.92 percent, Haier Smart Home plunged 2.93 percent, Hang Lung Properties skidded 1.84 percent, Henderson Land dropped 1.73 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas slid 0.84 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China jumped 1.63 percent, JD.com and Hengan International both dipped 0.71 percent, Lenovo fell 0.86 percent, Li Auto accelerated 1.61 percent, Li Ning was down 0.68 percent, Meituan advanced 0.97 percent, New World Development contracted 1.91 percent, Nongfu Spring plummeted 3.00 percent, Techtronic Industries slipped 0.82 percent, Xiaomi Corporation shed 1.71 percent and WuXi Biologics stumbled 2.33 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened under water on Monday and stayed that way throughout the trading day.
The Dow dropped 249.04 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 48,461.93, while the NASDAQ sank 118.75 points or 0.50 percent to and at 23,474.35 and the S&P 500 shed 24.20 points or 0.35 percent to close at 6,905.74.
The pullback on Wall Street reflected profit taking, as some traders looked to cash in on recent gains going into the end of the year.
A pullback by big-name tech companies also weighed on the markets, with Nvidia (NVDA) and Oracle (ORCL) showing notable moves to the downside.
In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales in the U.S. shot up much more than expected in November.
Crude oil prices surged on Monday, with Russia-Ukraine attacks continuing, the U.S.-Venezuela conflict escalating, and fresh conflicts brewing in the Middle East - all increasing supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was up $1.25 or 2.20 percent at $57.99 per barrel.
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