(fxcue news) - The Hong Kong stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had picked up more than 50 points or 0.3 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 17,470-point plateau although it might see renewed, if mild, support on Wednesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat with a touch of downside ahead of earnings news and economic data later this week. The European and U.S. markets were slightly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead. The Hang Seng finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the properties, technology stocks and energy companies. For the day, the index stumbled 166.52 points or 0.94 percent to finish at 17,469.36 after trading between 17,451.86 and 17,707.68. Among the actives, Alibaba Group dipped 0.87 percent, while Alibaba Health Info surrendered 2.70 percent, ANTA Sports tanked 2.83 percent, China Life Insurance slid 1.09 percent, China Mengniu Dairy plunged 3.10 percent, China Resources Land stumbled 2.13 percent, CITIC eased 0.28 percent, CNOOC was down 0.49 percent, Country Garden skidded 1.65 percent, CSPC Pharmaceutical dropped 1.64 percent, Galaxy Entertainment gave up 0.29 percent, Hang Lung Properties plummeted 3.12 percent, Henderson Land contracted 0.66 percent, Hong Kong & China Gas declined 2.20 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China jumped 1.40 percent, JD.com fell 1.44 percent, Lenovo slipped 0.76 percent, Li Ning tumbled 2.66 percent, Meituan retreated 2.64 percent, New World Development weakened 2.11 percent, Techtronic Industries slumped 2.19 percent, Xiaomi Corporation shed 1.51 percent and WuXi Biologics sank 1.60 percent. The lead from Wall Street ends up soft as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and spent almost the entire session in the green before a late slump dropped them barely into negative territory. The Dow shed 57.35 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 40,358.09, while the NASDAQ dipped 10.22 points or 0.06 percent to close at 17.997.35 and the S&P 500 fell 8.70 points or 0.16 percent to end at 5,555.71. The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the outlook for the markets following recent volatility. Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key earnings and economic news in the coming days. Later in the week, focus is likely to shift to a report on personal income and spending in June, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve. Oil prices fell to near seven-week lows on Tuesday as investors brace for a likely drop in demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $1.44 or 1.83 percent at $76.96 a barrel, the lowest settlement since June 7.