China Shares Tipped To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 20 points or 0.6 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just shy of the 3,390-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative in rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The SCI finished barely lower on Tuesday as losses from the properties were offset by gains from the oil companies and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index dipped 1.33 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 3,387.40 after trading between 3,376.42 and 3,393.31. The Shenzhen Composite Index fell 2.41 points or 0.12 percent to end at 2,010.52.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China added 0.42 percent, while Bank of China was down 0.19 percent, Agricultural Bank of China perked 0.18 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.44 percent, Bank of Communications fell 0.13 percent, China Life Insurance dipped 0.02 percent, Jiangxi Copper eased 0.18 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) rose 0.43 percent, Yankuang Energy and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) both improved 0.85 percent, PetroChina rallied 1.77 percent, Huaneng Power jumped 1.78 percent, China Shenhua Energy climbed 1.18 percent, Gemdale lost 0.53 percent, Poly Developments retreated 1.46 percent and China Vanke shed 0.61 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened slightly lower on Tuesday but saw the losses accelerate as the day progressed, ending firmly under water.

The Dow stumbled 299.29 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 42,215.80, while the NASDAQ slumped 180.12 points or 0.91 percent to close at 19,521.09 and the S&P 500 sank 50.39 points or 0.84 percent to end at 5,982.72.

While reports hinting at an end to hostilities contributed to a rally on Monday, news that President Donald Trump left a G7 summit early to focus on the conflict has led to worries about further escalation.

The weakness on Wall Street also came after the release of a Commerce Department report showing U.S. retail sales fell by more than expected in the month of May.

Crude prices soared on Tuesday, with the conflict between Israel and Iran showing no sign of retreat. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery shot up by $3.07 to settle at $74.84 per barrel.