The Hong Kong stock market has seen gains for two consecutive sessions, climbing nearly 500 points, or 2.5%, and is now just below the 20,200-point mark. However, it might face resistance on Tuesday. The broader forecast for Asian markets is negative, driven by anticipated declines in oil and technology stocks. Both European and U.S. markets have shown a downward trend, suggesting Asian markets, including the Hang Seng, may follow. On Monday, the Hang Seng experienced moderate increases thanks to positive performance in the financial, property, and technology sectors, ending the day up by 131.58 points or 0.66% at 20,197.77, after fluctuating between 20,118.02 and 20,296.94 during trading.
Key performers included Alibaba Group and ENN Energy Holdings, each increasing by 2.95%, while Alibaba Health Info rose by 1.17%, ANTA Sports by 0.80%, and China Life Insurance by 0.41%. China Mengniu Dairy saw a 0.39% rise, and China Resources Land rallied with a 1.72% increase. Conversely, CITIC saw a decline of 0.45%. CNOOC was up by 1.19%, CSPC Pharmaceutical by 1.58%, and Galaxy Entertainment surged by 3.31%. Haier Smart Home experienced a rise of 2.16%, and Hang Lung Properties saw a significant increase of 4.37%. Hong Kong & China Gas improved by 1.35%, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China jumped by 1.71%. Other notables included JD.com, up 1.03%, Li Auto with a 2.56% acceleration, and Lenovo with a slight increase of 0.21%. Li Ning and Meituan saw minor decreases, while Techtronic Industries tumbled by 1.42%, Xiaomi Corporation rose by 0.68%, and WuXi Biologics increased by 1.21%.
In contrast, Wall Street experienced a downturn as the major indices started off weak on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to edge into positive territory, gaining 289.33 points or 0.65% to close at 44,713.58. However, the NASDAQ dropped 612.47 points or 3.07%, finishing at 19,341.83, and the S&P 500 fell 88.96 points or 1.46% to close at 6,012.28.
The significant sell-off on Wall Street was largely due to severe weakness in technology stocks, with sector leader Nvidia (NVDA) leading the downward trend. Nvidia's plunge followed news of DeepSeek, a Chinese startup, surpassing ChatGPT with its AI Assistant as the top free app on Apple's App Store in the U.S.
Moreover, Wall Street was burdened by concerns regarding future interest rate adjustments, with attention focused on the Federal Reserve's upcoming monetary policy meeting. While expectations are that the Fed will maintain current interest rates, traders are keenly observing any signals about future rate directions from the statement. Recent economic indicators have heightened the worry that rates could be held steady for an extended period.
Oil prices also took a significant hit on Monday due to rising fears over tariff threats and ambiguities surrounding U.S. trade policy. Additionally, weak manufacturing data from China has sparked anxiety over demand prospects. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March closed at $73.17 per barrel, a drop of $1.49, or 2%.
