The Hong Kong stock market on Monday wrote a finish to the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 620 points or 2.4 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just above the 25,445-point plateau and it's expected to open in the red again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on rising geopolitical concerns. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.
The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and casinos, while the oil companies were mixed.
For the day, the index skidded 356.43 points or 1.38 percent to finish at 25,445.06 after trading between 25,399.54 and 25,683.59.
Among the actives, AAC Technologies plummeted 7.64 percent, while China Resources Land plunged 3.13 percent, Galaxy Entertainment tumbled 2.41 percent, China Mengniu Dairy skidded 2.39 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China retreated 2.09 percent, Tencent Holdings declined 1.94 percent, China Mobile dropped 1.79 percent, BOC Hong Kong shed 1.60 percent, China Life Insurance lost 1.52 percent, Sands China fell 1.46 percent, New World Development slid 1.11 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) contracted 0.88 percent, AIA Group was down 0.87 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas eased 0.67 percent, CNOOC added 0.55 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical gained 0.38 percent and WH Group collected 0.17 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks fluctuated on Monday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before ending in the red.
The Dow shed 89.44 points or 0.35 percent to end at 25,250.55, while the NASDAQ lost 66.15 points or 0.88 percent to finish at 7,430.74 and the S&P fell 16.34 points or 0.59 percent to 2,750.79.
The lower close on Wall Street came after the Commerce Department noted much weaker than expected U.S. retail sales growth in September. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said the pace of growth in New York manufacturing accelerated more than expected in October.
Oil futures were higher Monday on rising geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia following the disappearance of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Crude oil futures for November ended up $0.44 or 0.6 percent at $71.78 a barrel.
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