China Stock Market May Hand Back Wednesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The China stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one day after ending the five-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 160 points or 4.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,950-point plateau although it may head south again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky amidst a lack of catalysts. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the finance, technology, retail and resource companies.

For the day, the index added 12.58 points or 0.32 percent to finish at 3,946.46 after trading between 3,927.55 and 3,950.62.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and largely stayed that way, although the Dow slipped under water at the close.

The Dow dipped 21.58 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 53,770.27, while the NASDAQ climbed 143.04 points or 0.54 percent to end at 26,588.49 and the S&P 500 rose 20.30 points or 0.26 percent to close at 7,748.50.

The early strength on Wall Street came as fairly tame consumer price data eased concerns about the outlook for interest rates as inflation rose in line with estimates.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as the recent resurgence of Middle East tensions and the resulting spike in crude oil prices have fueled inflation concerns, although crude futures were little changed on Wednesday.

Crude oil prices inched lower after Pakistan announced initiating efforts to bring the U.S. and Iran back to the negotiating table. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $0.22 or 0.2 percent at $82.98 per barrel.