China Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has climbed higher in two straight sessions, advancing more than 75 points or 1.9 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits above the 3,915-point plateau although it's expected to open under pressure on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with optimism over earnings likely offset by profit taking. The European markets were slightly higher and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SCI finished sharply higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and resource companies.

For the day, the index jumped 52.44 points or 1.36 percent to finish at 3,916.33 after trading between 3,868.15 and 3,919.32. The Shenzhen Composite Index improved 42.61 points or 1.76 percent to end at 2,463.04.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 0.39 percent, while Bank of China gained 0.56 percent, Agricultural Bank of China added 1.68 percent, China Merchants Bank increased 1.35 percent, Bank of Communications collected 0.86 percent, China Life Insurance spiked 3.51 percent, Jiangxi Copper improved 1.37 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) rallied 2.99 percent, Yankuang Energy stumbled 3.10 percent, PetroChina jumped 1.62 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dipped 0.18 percent, China Shenhua Energy skidded 1.02 percent, Gemdale strengthened 1.46 percent, Poly Developments perked 0.13 percent, China Vanke advanced 0.95 percent and Huaneng Power was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened flat on Tuesday and hugged the line for most of the day, finally finishing on opposite sides and little changed.

The Dow gained 218.16 points or 0.47 percent to finish at a record 46,924.74, while the NASDAQ slipped 36.88 points or 0.16 percent to end at 22,953.67 and the S&P 500 perked 0.22 points or 0.00 percent to close at 6,735.35.

The advanced by the Dow reflected a positive reaction to solid earnings news from companies like 3M (MMM), Coca-Cola (KO), Salesforce (CRM), Amazon (AMZN) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW).

Traders may have been reluctant to continue buying stocks amid lingering concerns about U.S.-China trade tensions and the ongoing government shutdown.

A lack of major U.S. economic data due in part to the shutdown may also have kept some traders on the sidelines ahead of the release of closely watched consumer price inflation data on Friday.

Crude oil prices advanced on Tuesday as easing U.S.-China trade friction overrode a stronger greenback and excess supply concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was up $0.38 or 0.66 percent at $57.90 per barrel.