The Hong Kong stock market has ended lower in two straight sessions, dropping almost 500 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 27,785-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets remains negative - especially for technology companies - as global trade concerns continue to dominate. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.
The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Monday as losses from the casinos and insurance companies were offset by support from the financials and oil companies.
For the day, the index lost 158.85 points or 0.57 percent to finish at 27,787.61 after trading between 27,699.23 and 27,999.60.
Among the actives, WH Group plummeted 5.18 percent, while Tencent Holding plunged 3.88 percent, Galaxy Entertainment tumbled 3.81 percent, Sands China skidded 2.45 percent, China Mengniu Dairy retreated 2.32 percent, BOC Hong Kong declined 2.31 percent, China Life Insurance contracted 2.14 percent, CNOOC spiked 2.09 percent, Ping An Insurance dropped 1.84 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas jumped 1.79 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) climbed 1.77 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical shed 1.28 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.09 percent, China Mobile advanced 0.76 percent, CITIC added 0.74 percent, AIA Group lost 0.39 percent, New World Development fell 0.32 percent and AAC Technologies rose 0.23 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks fluctuated on Monday but maintained a negative bias throughout the session.
The Dow shed 84.10 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 25,679.90, while the NASDAQ lost 113.91 points or 1.46 percent to 7,702.38 and the S&P 500 fell 19.30 points or 0.67 percent to 2,840.23.
Tech stocks led Wall Street lower amid ongoing concerns about the escalating U.S.-China trade dispute after Google suspended some of its business with Chinese tech giant Huawei, complying with an order by President Donald Trump to block the sale of U.S. technology to Huawei.
That added to trade concerns sparked by reports that the scheduling of the next round of U.S.-China trade talks is in flux because it is unclear what the two sides would discuss.
Crude oil prices edged higher on Monday on prospects of a likely fall in supply amid an escalation in tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended up $0.34 or 0.54 percent at $63.10 a barrel.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Market Analysis