Hong Kong Shares May Find Support On Monday

(RTTNews) - The Hong Kong stock market has tracked into the red in two of three sessions since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had spiked almost 260 points or 1.2 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 22,530-point plateau, and the market may stop the bleeding on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat as the bourses are expected to settle after last week's U.S. election-induced volatility. The European and U.S. markets were mixed but little changed and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.

The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the oil companies, utilities and insurance companies, while the financial shares provided mild upside.

For the day, the index plummeted 308.02 points or 1.35 percent to finish at 22,531.09 after trading between 22,442.75 and 22,673.31.

Among the actives, Hong Kong & China Gas plunged 3.56 percent, while China Resources Land plummeted 3.20 percent, China Resources Power Holdings lost 2.74 percent, Bank of China spiked 2.36 percent, HSBC advanced 1.92 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China retreated 1.29 percent, CNOOC dropped 1.84 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) skidded 1.81 percent, Kunlun Energy retreated 1.39 percent, Li & Fung tumbled 1.39 percent and China Life shed 0.72 percent.

The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as stocks turned in a lackluster performance on Friday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing mixed.

The S&P 500 eased 3.03 points or 0.1 percent to 2,164.45, while the Dow rose 39.78 points or 0.2 percent to a new record closing high of 18,847.66 and the NASDAQ climbed 28.32 points or 0.5 percent to 5,237.11. For the week, the Dow soared 5.4 percent, while the NASDAQ and the S&P both added 3.8 percent.

The choppy trading came as some traders were away due to the Veterans Day holiday, as banks and the bond markets were closed.

In economic news, the University of Michigan reported a much bigger than expected rebound in consumer sentiment in November. It also showed that inflation expectations spiked - further supporting the case for a rate hike next month.

Also, a sharp decline by the price of crude oil weighed on the energy sector, as crude for December delivery tumbled $1.25 to $43.41 a barrel.