The Hong Kong stock market declined again on Tuesday, following a brief respite from a four-day losing streak that saw it drop over 1,030 points, or 5.5 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 18,820-point mark and is anticipated to open slightly lower on Wednesday.
The global prediction for Asian markets remains mixed and tepid, with investors awaiting the next series of economic data and exhibiting caution over interest rate projections. European markets experienced losses, while U.S. markets presented a mixed picture, suggesting that Asian markets may yield a balanced outcome.
On Tuesday, the Hang Seng marginally fell, primarily influenced by losses in the property sector and mixed performances from technology companies. The index slipped by 6.14 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 18,821.16 after oscillating between 18,776.10 and 19,000.52 throughout the trading session.
Individual stock performance among key players varied: Alibaba Group edged up by 0.38 percent, Alibaba Health Info soared by 10.10 percent, and ANTA Sports increased by 0.57 percent. Conversely, China Mengniu Dairy dropped by 1.15 percent, China Resources Land decreased by 0.16 percent, and Country Garden fell by 0.63 percent. CNOOC advanced by 0.73 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical surged by 2.03 percent, and Galaxy Entertainment rose by 1.16 percent. However, Hang Lung Properties and Henderson Land fell by 1.61 percent and 0.20 percent, respectively, among other mixed performances from major companies such as JD.com, Lenovo, Xiaomi Corporation, and WuXi Biologics.
Wall Street offered little decisive direction as major indexes opened mixed on Tuesday and finished similarly. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 216.73 points, or 0.55 percent, to close at 38,852.86. Conversely, the NASDAQ rose by 99.09 points, or 0.59 percent, to close at a record high of 17,019.88, while the S&P 500 added a negligible 1.32 points, or 0.02 percent, to end at 5,306.04.
The advance by the NASDAQ was primarily driven by a considerable surge in Nvidia (NVDA) shares, which climbed by 7.1 percent to a record high. In contrast, a sharp decline in Merck (MRK) shares contributed to the Dow’s losses, with the pharmaceutical giant falling by 2.6 percent to its lowest closing level in over a month.
In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board reported a notable improvement in consumer confidence for May.
Oil prices increased on Tuesday amid optimism that U.S. demand will rise during the driving season and expectations that OPEC will continue its production cuts into the next quarter. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July settled higher by $2.11, or 2.7 percent, at $79.83 a barrel.
