China Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting almost 70 points or 2 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,385-point plateau although investors may lock in gains on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside with earnings optimism offset by interest rate jitters. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished sharply higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares and resource companies, while the properties were mixed.

For the day, the index jumped 47.46 points or 1.42 percent to finish at the daily high of 3,385.61 after moving as low as 3,336.39. The Shenzhen Composite Index picked up 4.34 points or 0.20 percent to end at 2,141.40.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rallied 2.16 percent, while Bank of China jumped 1.99 percent, China Construction Bank collected 1.78 percent, China Merchants Bank spiked 2.36 percent, Bank of Communications soared 3.21 percent, China Life Insurance surged 4.39 percent, Jiangxi Copper advanced 0.89 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) gained 4.25 percent, Yankuang Energy strengthened 3.92 percent, PetroChina skyrocketed 6.38 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) accelerated 4.10 percent, Huaneng Power climbed 1.10 percent, China Shenhua Energy increased 2.25 percent, Gemdale rose 0.45 percent, Poly Developments retreated 1.39 percent, China Vanke improved 0.76 percent and China Fortune Land and Beijing Capital Development both lost 0.41 percent.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday, slipped into the red midday but bounced back into positive territory heading into the close.

The Dow climbed 100.71 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 33,987.18, while the NASDAQ added 34.26 points or 0.28 percent to close at 12,157.72 and the S&P 500 rose 13.68 points or 0.33 percent to end at 4,151.32.

Uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates seemed to spook investors after Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said that he wants to see more evidence of inflation settling back to target before calling interest rate hikes finished.

But he added that he feels reassured by what he is seeing in the banking sector in terms of stability after a couple of solvency issues by individual banks last month.

In economic news, the National Association of Home Builders said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index in the U.S. increased to 45 in April, rising for a fourth month in a row.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Monday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand, while uncertainty about interest rate hikes and the dollar's rise against other currencies also weighed. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May sank $1.69 or 2.1 percent at $80.83 a barrel.

Closer to home, China is scheduled to release a raft of data today, including Q1 numbers for GDP and March figures for industrial production, retail sales, fixed asset investment and unemployment.

GDP is expected to expand 2.2 percent on quarter and 4.0 percent on year following the flat quarterly reading and the 2.9 percent yearly increase in the previous three months.

Industrial production is tipped to rise 4.0 percent on year, up from 2.4 percent in February. Retail sales are expected to jump an annual 7.4 percent, up from 3.5 percent in the previous month. FAI is called higher by 5.7 percent on year, up from 5.5 percent a month earlier. The jobless rate is called steady at 5.5 percent.