China Stock Market Tipped To Open In The Red

(RTTNews) - The China stock market turned lower again on Wednesday, one day after snapping the two-day losing streak in which it had slipped almost 50 points or 0.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,230-point plateau and it may take further damage on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the properties and resource companies, while the financials came in mixed.

For the day, the index lost 15.99 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 3,232.11 after trading between 3,230.44 and 3,257.11. The Shenzhen Composite Index slumped 11.58 points or 0.54 percent to end at 2,141.31.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 0.23 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.31 percent, China Merchants Bank perked 0.21 percent, Bank of Communications added 0.41 percent, China Life Insurance dropped 0.86 percent, Jiangxi Copper skidded 0.99 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) retreated 1.30 percent, Yankuang Energy declined 1.33 percent, PetroChina shed 0.39 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) increased 0.22 percent, Huaneng Power dipped 0.25 percent, China Shenhua Energy slumped 0.85 percent, Gemdale stumbled 1.25 percent, Poly Developments jumped 1.70 percent, China Vanke sank 0.34 percent, China Fortune Land weakened 1.09 percent and China Construction Bank and China Minsheng Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow tumbled 207.68 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 33,949.01, while the NASDAQ plunged 203.27 points or 1.68 percent to close at 11,910.52 and the S&P 500 sank 46.14 points or 1.11 percent to end at 4,117.86.

The pullback on Wall Street came as some traders looked to cash in Tuesday's gains, which came amid a positive reaction to comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Powell acknowledged recent indications of easing inflation but noted that the disinflationary process has a long way to go and cautioned further interest rate hikes could be needed.

The positive sentiment generated in reaction to Powell's comments was partly offset by remarks by New York Fed President John Williams, who said interest rates may need to be kept at an elevated level for a few years to bring down inflation.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Wednesday, extending gains to a third straight session amid hopes of higher demand from China. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $1.33 or 1.7 percent at $78.47 a barrel.