Ahead of Tuesday's unscheduled day off due to Typhoon Nangka, the Hong Kong stock market had ended the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than 120 points or 0.5 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 24,650-point plateau and it may open in the red again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on profit taking and on concerns for a COVID-19 vaccine. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The Hang Seng finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the financials, properties and insurance companies.
For the day, the index surged 530.55 points or 2.20 percent to finish at 24,649.68 after trading between 24,196.80 and 24,702.81.
Among the actives, Xiaomi Corporation skyrocketed 8.35 percent, while WuXi Biologics surged 5.82 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank soared 5.74 percent, CITIC spiked 3.17 percent, China Resources Land accelerated 2.91 percent, China Mengniu Dairy rallied 2.54 percent, Alibaba jumped 2.03 percent, BOC Hong Kong collected 1.88 percent, Ping An Insurance climbed 1.79 percent, China Mobile gathered 1.70 percent, Hengan International tumbled 1.60 percent, Power Assets perked 1.46 percent, China Life Insurance advanced 1.45 percent, New World Development added 1.31 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) gained 1.26 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical and Wharf Real Estate both rose 1.15 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas increased 0.89 percent, Techtronic Industries improved 0.75 percent, AAC technologies lost 0.45 percent, Galaxy Entertainment fell 0.38 percent, WH Group was up 0.16 percent, CNOOC eased 0.13 percent and Sands China was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks opened lower and largely remained that way, finishing in the red after three straight sessions of gains.
The Dow sank 157.71 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 28,679.81, while the NASDAQ slid 12.36 points or 0.10 percent to end at 11,863.90 and the S&P 500 fell 22.29 points or 0.63 percent to close at 3,511.93.
The pullback on Wall Street may partly have reflected profit taking after the major averages climbed to their best closing levels in over a month on Monday.
Negative sentiment was also generated in reaction to news that Johnson & Johnson has paused a late-stage trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate due to an unexplained illness in a study participant.
Uncertainty about a new stimulus bill also weighed on Wall Street, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continued her attacks on the White House's latest offer.
In economic news, the Labor Department reported a modest increase in consumer prices last month, with the uptick in prices matching estimates.
Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday, lifted by a jump in Chinese crude oil imports last month. But the upside was capped by a surge in crude output in the Gulf of Mexico region as work in oil facilities resumed after Hurricane Delta. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for November ended up $0.77 or 2 percent at $40.20 a barrel.
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