Hong Kong Bourse Expected To Open Under Pressure On Wednesday

The Hong Kong stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one session after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 260 points or 1 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 26,570-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft as traders take a wait-and-see attitude regarding stimulus and coronavirus vaccines. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses slightly lower and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the technology stocks and mixed performances from the financials, properties and oil and insurance companies.

For the day, the index jumped 253.86 points or 0.96 percent to finish at 26,568.49 after trading between 26,432.91 and 26,618.78.

Among the actives, Alibaba surged 5.71 percent, while Xiaomi Corporation soared 5.30 percent, Meituan spiked 5.15 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical accelerated 4.82 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rallied 2.94 percent, WuXi Biologics plummeted 2.13 percent, China Resources Land plunged 1.92 percent, CITIC tanked 1.65 percent, CNOOC tumbled 1.60 percent, Galaxy Entertainment jumped 1.39 percent, AIA Group and ANTA Sports both skidded 0.84 percent, New World Development sank 0.69 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) climbed 0.57 percent, China Life Insurance dropped 0.47 percent, AAC Technologies shed 0.46 percent, Ping An Insurance advanced 0.38 percent, Power Assets perked 0.36 percent, China Mengniu Dairy lost 0.33 percent, BOC Hong Kong fell 0.21 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas rose 0.18 percent, Sands China and Sun Hing Kai Properties both eased 0.15 percent and Techtronic Industries was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mildly negative as stocks failed to sustain an initial move to the upside and moved modestly lower over the course of the trading session on Tuesday.

The Dow shed 68.30 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 30,335.67, while the NASDAQ sank 49.20 points or 0.38 percent to end at 12,850.22 and the S&P 500 fell 8.32 points or 0.22 percent to close at 3,727.04.

Stocks initially benefited from window dressing, as some fund managers looked to further boost their portfolios going into the end of the year. The initial advance lifted the major averages to new record intraday highs, although buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading.

Traders also kept an eye on developments in Washington after President Donald Trump signed a coronavirus relief and government spending bill over the weekend.

Trump called for the direct payments included in the bill to be increased to $2,000 from $600, and the House voted Monday to approve a measure increasing the size of the stimulus checks. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., blocked an effort by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to unanimously approve the House bill.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Tuesday amid hopes energy demand will pick up if U.S. policymakers decide to provide additional stimulus to boost economic growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended higher by $0.38 or 0.8 percent at $48.00 a barrel.

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