China Stock Market Predicted To Open In The Green

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Monday halted the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 30 points or 0.9 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,270-point plateau although it's expected to see renewed support on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting expected ahead of key inflation data later in the week. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were solidly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Monday as losses from the financial shares and property stocks were mitigated by support from the resource companies.

For the day, the index shed 19.25 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 3,268.83 after trading between 3,258.54 and 3,276.78. The Shenzhen Composite Index slipped 13.77 points or 0.66 percent to end at 2,057.82.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.63 percent, while Bank of China sank 0.77 percent, China Construction Bank dropped 0.99 percent, China Merchants Bank skidded 1.09 percent, Bank of Communications declined 0.88 percent, China Life Insurance tanked 2.13 percent, Jiangxi Copper perked 0.10 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) rose 0.16 percent, Yankuang Energy gained 0.58 percent, PetroChina advanced 0.92 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) strengthened 1.32 percent, Huaneng Power rallied 2.01 percent, China Shenhua Energy added 0.22 percent, Gemdale plummeted 4.18 percent, Poly Developments plunged 3.33 percent and China Vanke tumbled 3.35 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday and largely stayed that way, finishing firmly in the green.

The Dow jumped 407.51 points or 1.16 percent to finish at 35,473.13, while the NASDAQ climbed 85.16 points or 0.61 percent to close at 13,994.40 and the S&P 500 gained 40.41 points or 0.90 percent to end at 4,518.44.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as investors indulged in some bargain hunting after last week's losses.

The upside was measured, however, ahead of crucial reports on consumer and producer price inflation later in the week, which could affect the Federal Reserve's plan for interest rates.

Most economists expect another pause in interest rate hikes by the Fed next month, although the data has led to some uncertainty about the outlook for rates beyond that.

Oil futures settled lower on Monday, coming off the four-month highs they touched last week. The dollar's strength ahead of inflation data weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September shed $0.88 or 1.1 percent at $81.94 a barrel.

Closer to home, China will release July figures for imports, exports and trade balance later this morning. Imports are expected to fall 5.6 percent on year after sinking 6.8 percent in June. Exports are called lower by an annual 9.8 percent after dropping 12.4 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at $67.80 billion, down from $70.62 billion a month earlier.