Hang Seng Due For Profit Taking On Tuesday

The Hong Kong stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, accelerating more than 710 points or 3.7 percent along the way. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 20,075-point plateau although investors may cash in on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic amidst a lack of major catalysts. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses saw mild upside, and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financials and technology stocks, while the properties were mixed.

For the day, the index jumped 162.38 points or 0.82 percent to finish at 20,078.94 after trading between 20,019.79 and 20,361.03.

Among the actives, Alibaba Group jumped 1.67 percent, while Alibaba Health Info dropped 0.90 percent, ANTA Sports strengthened 1.61 percent, China Life Insurance gained 0.89 percent, China Mengniu Dairy advanced 1.55 percent, China Resources Land tumbled 0.96 percent, CITIC increased 1.15 percent, CNOOC improved 1.29 percent, Country Garden plummeted 8.06 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical slumped 0.92 percent, Galaxy Entertainment fell 0.18 percent, Hang Lung Properties added 1.00 percent, Henderson Land lost 0.83 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas eased 0.15 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.60 percent, JD.com surged 4.17 percent, Lenovo climbed 1.59 percent, Li Ning spiked 1.95 percent, Meituan soared 2.74 percent, New World Development sank 0.83 percent, Techtronic Industries perked 0.11 percent, Xiaomi Corporation rose 0.82 percent and WuXi Biologics rallied 1.85 percent.

The lead from Wall Street ends up slightly positive after a volatile session that saw the major averages bounce back and forth across the unchanged line throughout the day.

The Dow climbed 100.57 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 35,559.86, while the NASDAQ added 29.37 points or 0.21 percent to close at 14,346.02 and the S&P 500 rose 6.76 points or 0.15 percent to end at 4,588.99.

Traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves as they await the release of key economic data in the coming days, including the closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

In U.S. economic news, MNI Indicators released a report showing Chicago-area business activity contracted at a slightly slower rate in the month of July.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Monday and the oil futures contract posted the biggest monthly gain in over a year amid signs of tight supply and optimism over increased demand in the U.S. and China. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $1.22 or 1.5 percent at $81.80 a barrel. WTI crude futures gained 16 percent in July.

Closer to home, Hong Kong will provide June numbers for retail sales later today, with forecasts calling for an increase of 26.7 percent on year, accelerating from 18.4 percent in May.

Market Analysis