Hang Seng May Hand Back Monday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day slide in which it had slumped almost 300 points or 1.2 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 26,100-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative amidst rising hostilities in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and technology companies.

For the day, the index rallied 319.35 points or 1.24 percent to finish at 26,095.88 after trading between 26,091.86 and 26,326.44.

Among the actives, AIA expanded 1.12 percent, while Alibaba Group surged 4.52 percent, Baidu soared 3.45 percent, Bank of China collected 0.59 percent, BOC Hong Kong improved 0.76 percent, China Construction Bank increased 0.68 percent, China Life Insurance gained 0.56 percent, China Merchants Bank eased 0.04 percent, China Mobile sank 0.77 percent, China Petroleum & Chemical perked 0.22 percent, China Shenhua Energy shed 0.54 percent, CITIC advanced 0.85 percent, CNOOC slumped 2.59 percent, Hong Kong Exchange added 0.63 percent, HSBC spiked 2.28 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China vaulted 1.23 percent, JD.com rose 0.43 percent, Meituan strengthened 1.44 percent, NetEase rallied 1.62 percent, Nongfu Spring dropped 0.94 percent, PetroChina tumbled 2.74 percent, Ping An Insurance gathered 0.40 percent, Semiconductor Manufacturing jumped 1.76 percent, Sun Hung Kai Properties accelerated 1.84 percent, Tencent Holdings elevated 1.11 percent, Xiaomi Corporation skyrocketed 6.75 percent, WuXi AppTec climbed 1.03 percent and Zijin Mining was up 0.34 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed on Monday but quickly headed south and finished solidly in the red.

The Dow tumbled 557.37 points or 1.13 percent to finish at 48,941.90, while the NASDAQ dropped 46.64 points or 0.19 percent to close at 25,067.80 and the S&P 500 sank 29.37 points or 0.41 percent to end at 7,200.75.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came amid a substantial increase by the price of crude oil after a social media post from the United Arab Emirates's Defense Ministry said four cruise missiles launched from Iran were detected toward various areas across the country.

A report from Reuters indicating a fire broke out at a major oil industry zone in the U.A.E. following an Iranian drone attack also added to concerns about a re-escalation of the Middle East conflict.

Iranian state media also claimed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hit a U.S. warship with two missiles, although U.S. Central Command denied the report and said, "No U.S. Navy ships have been struck."

Crude oil prices skyrocketed on Monday as the Strait of Hormuz blockade continues to hold oil transit, despite the ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up $4.00 or 3.92 percent at $105.94 per barrel.

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