(RTTNews) – Hong Kong’s stock market on Monday ended a two-day winning streak in which it had gained more than 170 points, or 0.9 percent. The Hang Seng Index is now just above the 17,930-point plateau and looks set to open under pressure again on Tuesday.
Global forecasts for Asian markets are mixed and flat ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement later this week. European markets fell and US stocks were barely higher, and Asian markets could split the difference.
The Hang Seng ended sharply lower on Monday after losses in financial, real estate and technology stocks.
For the day, the index fell 252.34 points or 1.34 percent to end at 17,930.34 after trading between 17,894.81 and 18,114.82.
Among active companies, Alibaba Group fell 2.38 percent, while Alibaba Health Info fell 2.35 percent, ANTA Sports rose 0.11 percent, China Life Insurance lost 0.99 percent, China Mengniu Dairy plummeted 3.62 percent, China Resources Land fell 3.45 percent, CITIC fell 2.09 percent, Country Garden plummeted 2.42 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical rose 0.51 percent, ENN Energy gained 0.17 percent, Galaxy Entertainment rose 1.78 percent, Hang Lung Properties fell 1.33 percent, Henderson Land stumbled 1.96 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas fell 0.54 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 1.32 percent, JD.com plummeted 2.89 percent , Lenovo and Xiaomi Corporation both gave up 2.45 percent, Li Ning fell 0.69 percent, Meituan slipped 1.85 percent, New World Development fell 1.77 percent, Techtronic Industries fell 0.59 percent, WuXi Biologics fell 0 .68 percent and CNOOC and CK Infrastructure remained unchanged.
Wall Street’s lead offers little guidance as the major averages opened lower on Monday, rose higher and spent most of the day in the green, but faded late to finish barely above the unchanged line.
The Dow Jones added 6.06 points or 0.02 percent to end at 34,624.30, while the NASDAQ rose 1.90 points or 0.01 percent to 13,710.24 and the S&P 500 rose 3.21 points or 0. rose 07 percent to end at 4,453.53.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders appeared reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.
The Fed is widely expected to leave rates unchanged, but traders will keep a close eye on the accompanying statement and the central bank’s projections for clues about the rate outlook.
On the US economic front, the National Association of Home Builders released a report showing that US homebuilder confidence unexpectedly deteriorated in September.
Oil futures closed higher on Monday, rising for the third straight time on global supply issues and a weaker dollar. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $0.71, or 0.8 percent, to $91.48 a barrel in October, the highest settlement this year.
Closer to home, Hong Kong will see unemployment figures for August later today, with forecasts pointing to no change in the unemployment rate at 2.8 percent.
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