The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the five-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 800 points or 3.8 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 22,720-point plateau, and the market may open under pressure again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft over concerns of a hard Brexit, although a bump in the price of crude oil should limit the downside. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were closed, and the Asian markets also figure to open in the red.
The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financials, oil companies and property stocks.
For the day, the index tumbled 219.23 points or 0.96 percent to finish at 22,718.15 after trading between 22,657.35 and 22,908.86.
Among the actives, Cathay Pacific Airways surged 3.04 percent, while China Life skidded 2.32 percent, CITIC dropped 2.26 percent, Hang Lung Properties tumbled 2.10 percent, CNOOC retreated 1.31 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) slipped 1.15 percent, New World Development shed 1.00 percent, Ping An Insurance lost 0.87 percent, Li & Fung fell 0.85 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dipped 0.84 percent and Lenovo Group added 0.59 percent.
Wall Street was shuttered on Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, although the European markets all moved lower,
Investors figure to be cautious on growing concerns about a hard Brexit, awaiting a speech later today from U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May - who will outline her Brexit plans.
Financial stocks also may weigh after Canadian rating agency DBRS cut Italy's sovereign credit rating.
Brent crude oil was up 41 cents a barrel on Monday, or 0.7 percent, to $55.86. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude added 27 cents or 0.5 percent to $52.64 a barrel.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.