Hong Kong Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Tuesday wrote an end to the three-day losing streak in which it had fallen almost 850 points or 3.1 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 26,900-point plateau although it's expected to turn lower again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains negative on fears that the coronavirus is spreading. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Tuesday as gains from the casinos were tempered by weakness from the financials and oil companies.

For the day, the index gained 72.35 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 26,893.23 after trading between 26,667.04 and 26,914.05.

Among the actives, Tencent Holdings surged 2.87 percent, while Wharf Real Estate plummeted 2.31 percent, AAC Technologies soared 2.15 percent, Power Assets plunged 1.66 percent, CNOOC tumbled 1.53 percent, China Mobile skidded 1.30 percent, Galaxy Entertainment spiked 1.30 percent, Techtronic Industries accelerated 1.25 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 1.17 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical jumped 0.97 percent, China Resources Land climbed 0.87 percent, WH Group gathered 0.83 percent, Sands China perked 0.79 percent, CITIC sank 0.77 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dropped 0.73 percent, Henderson Land shed 0.56 percent, Sino Land advanced 0.38 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 0.37 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas fell 0.27 percent, New World Development added 0.20 percent, AIA Group gained 0.19 percent, Ping An Insurance rose 0.06 percent and Hang Seng Bank and BOC Hong Kong were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests consolidation as stocks opened higher on Tuesday but quickly reversed course and fell deeply into the red.

The Dow shed 879.44 points or 3.15 percent to end at 27,081.36, while the NASDAQ lost 255.67 points or 2.77 percent to 8,965.67 and the S&P 500 fell 97.68 points or 3.03 percent to 3,128.21.

Stocks initially moved to the upside as traders went bargain hunting, picking up stocks at reduced levels following Monday's steep drop. Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as fears about the coronavirus outbreak escalating into a pandemic continued to grow.

Adding to the worries, MasterCard (MA) and United Airlines (UAL) joined a growing list of companies that have warned about the potential financial impact of the outbreak.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Tuesday, extending recent losses amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on global growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down $1.53 or 3 percent at $49.90 a barrel.