FX.co ★ Hong Kong Shares Tipped To Open Under Pressure On Monday

The Hong Kong stock market concluded Friday with a halt in its two-day progress, during which it had gained over 360 points, equating to a rise of 1.8%. Currently, the Hang Seng Index stabilizes just above the 20,090 mark, with expectations of further decline at the start of the coming week.

Globally, the forecast for Asian markets appears mixed to negative in this holiday-shortened period, notably with technology sectors anticipated to apply downward pressure. While European markets closed on a positive note, U.S. markets experienced a downturn, leaving Asian market trends likely to mirror the latter's trajectory.

The Hang Seng showed a marginal decrease on Friday, influenced by declines in property sectors and varied performances in financial and technology stocks. Specifically, the index fell by 7.84 points or 0.04%, ending at 20,090.46 after fluctuating between 20,009.95 and 20,184.88 throughout the session.

Examining individual stocks, Alibaba Group fell by 0.96%, Alibaba Health Information experienced a 2.85% decline, and ANTA Sports dropped by 0.62%. Meanwhile, China Life Insurance decreased by 1.08%, China Mengniu Dairy fell by 3.01%, and China Resources Land dipped by 0.43%. Conversely, CITIC saw an increase of 0.33%, and CNOOC rose by 0.43%. CSPC Pharmaceutical declined by 0.42%, Galaxy Entertainment increased by 0.30%, and Haier Smart Home decreased by 2.34%. Hang Lung Properties fell by 0.48%, Henderson Land saw a notable rise of 0.85%, and Hong Kong & China Gas increased by 0.81%. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China recorded a 0.19% gain. JD.com plummeted by 3.55%, while Lenovo soared by 9.20%, and Li Auto surged by 6.13%. Li Ning declined by 1.31%, Meituan slightly fell by 0.26%, New World Development decreased by 2.42%, and Nongfu Spring dropped by 4.11%. Xiaomi Corporation rose by 4.27%, WuXi Biologics slid by 0.89%, and Techtronic Industries remained unchanged.

The tone from Wall Street was negative, as major indexes began the day lower and continued on a declining trajectory, closing near their session lows. The Dow Jones dropped 333.59 points, or 0.77%, to settle at 42,992.21. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ fell by 298.37 points, or 1.49%, closing at 19,722.03, and the S&P 500 decreased by 66.75 points, or 1.11%, to end at 5,970.84.

Over the week, the Dow experienced a 1.4% increase, while both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 advanced by 1.5%. These figures may reflect the light trading volumes, as many investors were on holiday between Christmas and New Year's.

In economic developments, data indicated a 0.6% increase in U.S. retail inventories excluding automobiles for November, following a revised 0.3% rise in the previous month, according to preliminary estimates.

Oil prices saw an uptick on Friday, driven by a significant decrease in U.S. crude inventories last week and ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. West Texas Intermediate Crude for February delivery settled at $70.60 per barrel, marking a 1.4% gain.

Turning attention closer to the region, Hong Kong is set to release November's figures for imports, exports, and the trade balance today. In October, imports had climbed by 4.5% while exports rose by 3.5%, resulting in a trade deficit of HKD 31 billion.