The Hong Kong stock market on Monday wrote a finish to the six-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 1,150 points or 6.4 percent. The Hang Seng Index now sits just beneath the 18,250-point plateau although its expected to rebound on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside, largely on positive momentum amid a lack of catalysts. The European and U.S. markets were modestly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The Hang Seng finished barely lower on Monday following mixed performances from the technology stocks and properties.
For the day, the index dipped 11.46 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 18,247.11 after trading between 18,212.58 and 18,426.92.
Among the actives, Alibaba Group fell 0.52 percent, while ANTA Sports tumbled 1.47 percent, China Life Insurance rallied 1.67 percent, China Mengniu Dairy shed 0.88 percent, China Resources Land sank 0.94 percent, CITIC climbed 1.16 percent, CNOOC gained 0.42 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical retreated 1.20 percent, Galaxy Entertainment declined 1.12 percent, Haier Smart Home jumped 1.74 percent, Hang Lung Properties rose 0.18 percent, Henderson Land dropped 0.98 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.14 percent, JD.com added 0.44 percent, Lenovo soared 2.56 percent, Li Auto stumbled 0.99 percent, Li Ning advanced 0.55 percent, Meituan plunged 2.28 percent, New World Development strengthened 1.43 percent, Nongfu Spring lost 0.57 percent, Techtronic Industries tanked 2.14 percent, Xiaomi Corporation surged 3.37 percent, WuXi Biologics plummeted 5.08 percent and Alibaba Health Info and Hong Kong & China Gas were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened slightly higher on Monday and largely remained that way throughout the session, finishing with mild gains.
The Dow added 61.29 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 42,124.65, while the NASDAQ rose 25.95 points or 0.14 percent to close at 17,974.27 and the S&P 500 gained 16.02 points or 0.28 percent to end at 5,718.57.
The modest strength on Wall Street partly reflects optimism about the outlook for the economy following the Federal Reserves interest rate cut last week.
The Fed is expected to continue lowering rates in the coming months amid signs of slowing inflation even as the economy remains relatively strong.
Overall trading activity remains somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of some key economic data later this week.
Crude oil prices were unable to hold early gains, slumping midday on demand concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery fell $0.47 or 0.66 percent to $70.53 per barrel.