China Stock Market May See Renewed Selling Pressure On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day losing streak in which it had tumbled more than 140 points or 3.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 4,065-point plateau although it's likely to open under water on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with technology stocks expected to lead the markets lower. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains form the property and resource stocks, while the financials and oil companies were soft.

For the day, the index rallied 51.99 points or 1.29 percent to finish at 4,067.74 after trading between 4,002.78 and 4,069.42. The Shenzhen Composite Index spiked 61.41 points or 2.35 percent to end at 2,676.84.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China stumbled 1.91 percent, while Agricultural Bank of China contracted 1.77 percent, China Merchants Bank shed 0.39 percent, China Life Insurance dipped 0.06 percent, Jiangxi Copper vaulted 3.45 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) soared 3.30 percent, Yankuang Energy rose 0.36 percent, PetroChina plunged 1.97 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) slumped 1.25 percent, China Shenhua Energy tumbled 1.52 percent, Gemdale advanced 0.96 percent, Poly Developments rallied 2.56 percent, China Vanke added 0.43 percent and Huaneng Power was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday but quickly turned lower and spent the rest of the day largely under water.

The Dow dropped 166.67 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 49,240.99, while the NASDAQ tumbled 336.92 points or 1.43 percent to close at 23,255.19 and the S&P 500 sank 58.63 points or 0.84 percent to end at 6,917.81.

The weakness on Wall Street was largely due to a rotation out of technology stocks, as reflected by the steep drop by the NASDAQ.

The U.S. Software Index slumped to its lowest closing level in over nine months, while substantial weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks.

Gold stocks also saw considerable strength amid a significant rebound by the price of the precious metal. Steel, energy and housing stocks also moved notably higher on the day, helping to limit the downside for the broader markets.

Crude oil prices surged on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar index moved lower, while news of the U.S.-India trade agreement has led to anticipation of a spur in energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $1.10 or 1.77 percent at $63.24 per barrel.