Hang Seng Index May Find Traction On Tuesday

The Hong Kong stock market has moved lower in consecutive trading days, sinking more than 650 points or 2.7 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 24,600-point plateau although it may halt its slide on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on hopes for further stimulus in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The European markets were slightly lower and the U.S. bourses were firmly higher and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the properties and mixed performances from the casinos and insurance companies.

For the day, the index slid 102.07 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 24,603.26 after trading between 24,526.91 and 24,972.46.

Among the actives, New World Development plummeted 2.82 percent, while CITIC surged 2.19 percent, Hengan International plunged 2.17 percent, Techtronic Industries and Tencent Holdings both tanked 1.52 percent, Hang Seng Bank tumbled 1.45 percent, Power Assets Holdings spiked 1.42 percent, WH Group skidded 1.33 percent, AAC Technologies retreated 1.22 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas declined 1.09 percent, Henderson Land surrendered 1.05 percent, China Mengniu Dairy climbed 1.01 percent, China Mobile sank 0.93 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical dropped 0.91 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties shed 0.87 percent, CNOOC advanced 0.82 percent, AIA Group added 0.70 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.64 percent, China Resources Land lost 0.60 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) gained 0.58 percent, Sands China fell 0.51 percent, BOC Hong Kong rose 0.46 percent, Galaxy Entertainment increased 0.40 percent, China Life Insurance was up 0.33 percent, Ping An Insurance fell 0.30 percent and Wharf Real Estate was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks rebounded from last week's weakness as traders cycled back into big-name tech stocks.

The Dow added 114.88 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 26,584.77, while the NASDAQ jumped 173.09 points or 1.67 percent to end at 10,536.27 and the S&P 500 rose 23.78 points or 0.74 percent to close at 3,239.41.

The strength on Wall Street partly reflected optimism about additional fiscal stimulus after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Republicans have finalized their new coronavirus relief legislation.

In economic news, the Commerce Department released report showing durable goods orders continued to move sharply higher in June.

Crude oil prices rebounded after early losses on Monday as the dollar fell to its lowest level in two years. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up $0.31 or 0.8 percent at $41.60 a barrel.