China Shares Expected To Halt Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in four straight sessions, sinking more than 45 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,260-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, mostly on bargain hunting following heavy selling last week. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit. The SCI finished slightly lower on Monday following losses from the financials and oil companies, support from the energy stocks and a mixed picture from the property sector. For the day, the index fell 9.13 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 3,258.03 after trading between 3,251.72 and 3,276.58. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 15.77 points or 0.74 percent to end at 2,124.88. Among the actives, Bank of China fell 0.31 percent, while China Construction Bank dipped 0.18 percent, China Merchants Bank sank 0.80 percent, Bank of Communications shed 0.41 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.45 percent, Jiangxi Copper lost 0.61 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) dropped 0.73 percent, Yankuang Energy jumped 1.83 percent, PetroChina slumped 0.38 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) slid 0.43 percent, Huaneng Power retreated 1.26 percent, China Shenhua Energy added 0.39 percent, Gemdale advanced 0.93 percent, Poly Developments gained 0.67 percent, China Vanke eased 0.23 percent, China Fortune Land and Beijing Capital Development both declined 1.11 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened sharply higher on Monday, faded as the day progressed but still finished with modest gains.

The Dow added 72.17 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 32,889.09, while the NASDAQ advanced 72.04 points or 0.63 percent to close at 11,466.98 and the S&P 500 rose 12.20 points or 0.31 percent to end at 3,982.24.

The early rally on Wall Street reflected bargain hunting as some traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the steep drop last week.

However, buying interest waned over the course of the session as traders expressed concerns about the outlook for interest rates as recent economic data has led to worries the Federal Reserve will raise rates more than anticipated.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted a sharp pullback in new orders for durable goods in January. Also, the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales in the U.S. spiked by more than expected in January.

Crude oil prices pulled back Monday, handing back recent gains on concerns that higher interest rates will tip the global economy into a recession. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery slid $0.64 or 0.8 percent to $75.68 a barrel.