The Hong Kong stock market on Tuesday halted the two-day winning streak in which it had added more than 80 points or 0.5 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just above the 16,160-point plateau and it\'s looking at another rough session again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests further consolidation on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets also figure to open in the red.
The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Tuesday with damage across the board, especially among the technology stocks.
For the day, the index plummeted 433.33 points or 2.61 percent to finish at 16,162.64 after trading between 16,095.68 and 16,450.37.
Among the actives, Alibaba Group slumped 3.33 percent, while Alibaba Health Info plummeted 7.95 percent, ANTA Sports dropped 2.90 percent, China Life Insurance slipped 1.80 percent, China Mengniu Dairy tumbled 4.69 percent, China Resources Land dipped 1.55 percent, CITIC fell 2.42 percent, CNOOC eased 0.24 percent, Country Garden lost 2.43 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical sank 2.85 percent, Galaxy Entertainment skidded 3.11 percent, Hang Lung Properties was down 1.54 percent, Henderson Land slid 2.23 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas weakened 3.44 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China gave up 0.75 percent, JD.com plunged 7.54 percent, Lenovo was down 0.72 percent, Li Ning retreated 4.10 percent, Meituan tanked 5.63 percent, New World Development shed 2.74 percent, Techtronic Industries declined 3.54 percent, Xiaomi Corporation stumbled 4.35 percent and WuXi Biologics surrendered 5.05 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained deep in the red throughout the session, ending near daily lows.
The Dow plummeted 404.64 points or 1.04 percent to finish at 38,585.19, while the NASDAQ tumbled 267.92 points or 1.65 percent to close at 15,939.59 and the S&P 500 sank 52.30 points or 1.02 percent to end at 5,078.65.
The weakness on Wall Street came as traders continued to cash in on recent strength in the markets, which lifted the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ to record closing highs last week.
Uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates also weighed on the markets ahead of congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He\'s due to testify before the House Financial Services Committee later today and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.
In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. service sector growth slowed more than expected in February. Also, The Commerce Department noted a drop in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in January.
Crude oil futures settled lower on Tuesday, falling for the second consecutive session on concerns about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down $0.59 at $78.15 a barrel.