China Stock Market May Halt Losing Streak On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, sinking more than 35 points or 1.2 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,075-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates and easing bond yields. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the property and resource stocks, while the financials came in mixed.

For the day, the index sank 21.69 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 3,075.24 after trading between 3,073.19 and 3,109.98. The Shenzhen Composite Index dipped 7.31 points or 0.38 percent to end at 1,901.33.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 0.21 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.53 percent, China Construction Bank lost 0.48 percent, China Merchants Bank perked 0.03 percent, China Life Insurance skidded 1.05 percent, Jiangxi Copper sank 0.58 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) fell 0.63 percent, Yankuang Energy plunged 2.69 percent, PetroChina retreated 1.52 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) surrendered 2.15 percent, Huaneng Power tanked 2.03 percent, China Shenhua Energy declined 1.55 percent, Gemdale tumbled 1.82 percent, Poly Developments dropped 0.64 percent, China Vanke was down 0.54 percent and Bank of Communications was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and accelerated as the day progressed, although late profit taking saw them end well off session highs.

The Dow climbed 134.65 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 33,739.30, while the NASDAQ gained 78.60 points or 0.58 percent to close at 13,562.84 and the S&P 500 added 22.58 points or 0.52 percent to end at 4,358.24.

Despite concerns about the ongoing war in the Middle East, the mood on Wall Street was fairly positive as dovish comments from some Federal Reserve officials lowered expectations for further interest rate hikes and pushed down bond yields.

In economic news, the International Monetary Fund downgraded its global growth forecast for next year, saying the projections are weakest in decades, while the likelihood of a soft-landing has increased with growing divergences amid modestly easing inflationary pressures.

Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday as traders assessed the likely impact of potential supply disruptions due to the ongoing war in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November shed $0.41 or 0.5 percent at $85.97 a barrel.