China Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - The China stock market halted the four-day losing streak in which it had tumbled almost 150 points or 4.4 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,120-point plateau although it may head south again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative ahead of the FOMC's rate decision later today. The European and U.S. markets finished firmly in the red and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished slightly higher on Tuesday as gains from the oil companies were offset by weakness from the financials and properties.

For the day, the index rose 6.80 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 3,122.41 after trading between 3,114.04 and 3,140.03. The Shenzhen Composite Index advanced 21.30 points or 1.07 percent to end at 2,011.66.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China slid 0.23 percent, while Bank of China fell 0.32 percent, China Construction Bank dipped 0.18 percent, China Merchants Bank retreated 1.57 percent, China Life Insurance tanked 3.31 percent, Jiangxi Copper climbed 1.13 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) added 0.45 percent, Yankuang Energy rose 0.21 percent, PetroChina perked 0.19 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) advanced 0.96 percent, Huaneng Power lost 0.24 percent, China Shenhua Energy shed 0.48 percent, Gemdale plummeted 4.50 percent, Poly Developments plunged 4.34 percent, China Vanke tumbled 3.41 percent, Beijing Capital slumped 2.63 percent and Bank of Communications was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened in the red on Tuesday and held their negative bias throughout the session.

The Dow plunged 313.45 points or 1.01 percent to finish at 30,706.23, while the NASDAQ sank 109.97 points or 0.95 percent to end at 11,425.05 and the S&P 500 tumbled 43.96 points or 1.13 percent to close at 3,855.93.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders were jittery ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision later today. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points, although some see an outside chance for a 100-point rate hike.

Treasury yields saw further upside ahead of the Fed announcement, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note jumping to a new 11-year high.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported an unexpected spike in new residential construction in the U.S. in August, although the report also showed a steeper than expected slump in building permits.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday amid concerns about interest rate hikes and worries about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for October ended lower by $1.28 or 1.5 percent at $84.45 a barrel on expiration day.