(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market on Tuesday ended the three-day slide in which it had stumbled more than 550 points or 3 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 19,160-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The Hang Seng finished barely higher on Tuesday following gains from the entertainment stocks and mixed performances from the property and technology companies.
For the day, the index perked 8.21 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 19,159.20 after trading between 19,054.40 and 19,295.75.
Among the actives, Alibaba Group spiked 1.71 percent, while Alibaba Health Info surged 2.27 percent, ANTA Sports rose 0.20 percent, China Life Insurance eased 0.14 percent, China Mengniu Dairy gained 0.72 percent, China Resources Land climbed 1.12 percent, CITIC slid 0.35 percent, CNOOC tumbled 1.15 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical fell 0.59 percent, Galaxy Entertainment advanced 1.08 percent, Hang Lung Properties dipped 0.32 percent, Henderson Land lost 0.61 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas was down 0.17 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Lenovo both slipped 0.22 percent, JD.com soared 1.88 percent, Li Auto slumped 0.86 percent, Li Ning shed 0.65 percent, Meituan rallied 1.42 percent, New World Development added 1.05 percent, Nongfu Spring dropped 0.94 percent, Techtronic Industries skidded 1.12 percent, Xiaomi Corporation plummeted 4.23 percent, WuXi Biologics sank 0.83 percent and Haier Smart Home was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but trended higher throughout the day and all finished in the green.
The Dow climbed 123.74 points or 0.28 percent to finish at a record 44,860.31, while the NASDAQ jumped 119.46 points or 0.63 percent to close at 19,174.30 and the S&P 500 improved 34.28 points or 0.57 percent to end at 6,021.63, also a record.
The higher close by the major averages came as the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting revealed officials believe it will be appropriate to "gradually" lower interest rates.
The minutes said officials feel a gradual approach to lowering rates to a more neutral stance will be appropriate if economic data come in "about as expected, with inflation continuing to move down sustainably to 2 percent and the economy remaining near maximum employment."
Oil prices drifted lower on Tuesday following reports Israel and Hezbollah are closer to reaching a cease-fire agreement within the next few days. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January closed down $0.17 at $68.77 a barrel.
