China Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Tuesday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had gained more than 50 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just shy of the 3,225-point plateau and it's expected to remain in that neighborhood again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with earnings news likely to guide investors. The European and U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets are expected to follow suit.

The SCI finished barely lower on Tuesday following losses from the resource stocks and mixed performances from the financials and properties.

For the day, the index eased 3.35 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 3,224.24 after trading between 3,211.76 and 3,231.26.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dipped 0.23 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.31 percent, China Construction Bank fell 0.36 percent, China Merchants Bank added 0.52 percent, Bank of Communications gained 0.41 percent, China Life Insurance plunged 3.55 percent, Jiangxi Copper shed 0.43 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) lost 0.61 percent, Yankuang Energy dropped 0.99 percent, PetroChina slumped 0.59 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) slid 0.45 percent, Huaneng Power retreated 1.13 percent, China Shenhua Energy perked 0.14 percent, Gemdale dipped 0.30 percent, Poly Developments improved 0.56 percent, China Vanke was up 0.21 percent and China Fortune Land sank 0.81 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday, saw a mild recovery but only the NASDAQ managed to end in the green.

The Dow tumbled 391.76 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 33,910.85, while the NASDAQ rose 15.96 points or 0.14 percent to end at 11,095.11 and the S&P 500 dipped 8.12 points or 0.20 percent to close at 3,990.97.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent strength.

A steep drop by Goldman Sachs (GS) weighed on the Dow after the company reported earnings that missed estimates. Travelers (TRV) also missed, while Morgan Stanley (MS) beat the street.

In economic news, the New York Federal Reserve noted a significant contraction in regional manufacturing activity in January.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Tuesday on expectations of a jump in demand following better than expected Chinese GDP data. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended higher by $0.32 or 0.4 percent at $80.18 a barrel, the highest settlement since December 30.