FX.co ★ Hong Kong Stock Market May Halt Its Slide

The Hong Kong stock market extended its losses for a second consecutive session, collectively dropping over 500 points or 2.9 percent. As a result, the Hang Seng Index now hovers just below the 17,525-point threshold, with potential support expected on Tuesday.

The global outlook for Asian markets is uncertain, primarily due to ambiguity surrounding interest rate forecasts. European markets experienced declines, while U.S. markets ended mixed and relatively unchanged, suggesting a similar trend for Asian markets.

On Monday, the Hang Seng Index witnessed significant declines, led by losses in financial, technology, and property sectors.

Specifically, the index fell by 275.55 points or 1.55 percent to close at 17,524.06, fluctuating between a low of 17,453.56 and a high of 17,735.58 during the session.

Among the active stocks, Alibaba Group declined by 1.51 percent, Alibaba Health Information Technology dropped by 2.19 percent, ANTA Sports increased by 0.42 percent, China Life Insurance decreased by 1.32 percent, and China Mengniu Dairy plummeted by 3.37 percent. Additionally, China Resources Land fell by 2.91 percent, CITIC weakened by 2.06 percent, CNOOC slid by 0.43 percent, Country Garden tumbled 3.14 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical dropped by 2.40 percent, and both Galaxy Entertainment and WuXi Biologics fell by 4.26 percent. Hang Lung Properties decreased by 1.22 percent, Henderson Land declined by 1.66 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas edged up by 0.33 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell by 0.78 percent, JD.com rose by 0.29 percent, Lenovo dropped by 0.72 percent, Li Ning eased by 0.13 percent, Meituan stumbled by 1.76 percent, New World Development dropped by 3.18 percent, Techtronic Industries plummeted by 3.53 percent, and Xiaomi Corporation shed 0.96 percent.

Wall Street's guidance remains ambiguous as major indices opened higher on Monday but quickly lost steam, oscillating throughout the day and ultimately closing mixed with minimal changes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped by 31.08 points or 0.08 percent to 39,344.79. Conversely, the NASDAQ increased by 50.98 points or 0.28 percent to reach a record 18,403.74, while the S&P 500 added 5.66 points or 0.10 percent to also finish at a record 5,572.85.

This inconsistency on Wall Street is attributed to prevailing uncertainties regarding interest rate projections, ahead of pivotal economic reports on consumer and producer prices expected later this week.

Market participants will closely monitor Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony for additional insights into future interest rates.

In commodity markets, oil prices decreased on Monday in response to the temporary closure of oil export facilities near Houston due to Hurricane Beryl. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for August declined by $0.83 or 1 percent, settling at $82.33 per barrel.