The Hong Kong stock market ended a five-day losing streak on Tuesday, during which it had fallen by over 800 points, or 4.6 percent. Currently, the Hang Seng Index is positioned slightly above the 17,230-point mark, with expectations of further gains on Wednesday.
The global outlook for Asian markets remains mixed and flat in anticipation of critical inflation data due later this week. European markets experienced a downturn, while U.S. markets showed mixed results, suggesting that Asian markets might mirror this mixed behavior.
On Tuesday, the Hang Seng Index closed slightly higher, buoyed by mixed performances among financial shares and technology companies, although the property sector underperformed. The index gained 37.13 points, or 0.22 percent, to close at 17,234.09, fluctuating between 17,133.50 and 17,297.95 during the day.
Key movements included Alibaba Group, which surged 4.21 percent, while Alibaba Health Info dipped 1.40 percent. ANTA Sports fell by 1.49 percent, China Life Insurance decreased by 0.71 percent, and China Mengniu Dairy dropped 0.48 percent. Other notable changes included China Resources Land falling 4.30 percent, CITIC rising 0.14 percent, CNOOC increasing 0.42 percent, and CSPC Pharmaceutical declining 2.15 percent. Galaxy Entertainment climbed 0.70 percent, Haier Smart Home fell 1.72 percent, Hang Lung Properties skidded 1.46 percent, and Henderson Land dropped 1.28 percent. Hong Kong & China Gas decreased by 0.81 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China gained 0.96 percent, JD.com rallied 1.19 percent, Lenovo retreated 1.75 percent, and Li Auto surged 6.33 percent. Li Ning fell 1.59 percent, Meituan gained 0.25 percent, New World Development tumbled 2.68 percent, Nongfu Spring dropped 2.31 percent, Techtronic Industries rose 1.36 percent, Xiaomi Corporation inched up 0.21 percent, and WuXi Biologics plunged 3.88 percent.
The sentiment from Wall Street was cautiously optimistic as major indices opened mixed and fluctuated throughout the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 92.63 points, or 0.23 percent, to 40,736.96. In contrast, the NASDAQ Composite increased by 141.28 points, or 0.84 percent, closing at 17,025.88, and the S&P 500 added 24.47 points, or 0.45 percent, finishing at 5,495.52.
The day’s volatility was attributed to traders anticipating closely watched consumer and producer price inflation data, which are scheduled for release on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. These data points could influence expectations for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming monetary policy meeting.
The consensus is that the Federal Reserve will begin lowering interest rates next week, although there is some debate on whether the rate cut will be 25 basis points or 50.
In the commodities market, crude oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday, driven by concerns over global economic health and ahead of the inflation data release. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery dropped $2.43, or 3.54 percent, to settle at $66.28 per barrel.
