Continued Consolidation Called For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 90 points or 2.7 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,360-point plateau and it's likely to move lower again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation ahead of key inflation data later in the day. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly lower and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares, oil companies and resource stocks, while the properties were mixed.

For the day, the index skidded 37,33 points or 1.10 percent to finish at 3,357.67 after trading between 3,356.12 and 3,418.95. The Shenzhen Composite Index slumped 23.86 points or 1.17 percent to end at 2,023.06.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank both shed 0.57 percent, Bank of China jumped 1.56 percent, China Merchants Bank declined 1.71 percent, Bank of Communications tumbled 1.74 percent, China Life Insurance tanked 2.95 percent, Jiangxi Copper retreated 1.30 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) surrendered 2.76 percent, Yankuang Energy dipped 0.26 percent, PetroChina plummeted 5.71 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) skidded 1.16 percent, Huaneng Power stumbled 2.20 percent, China Shenhua Energy eased 0.16 percent, Gemdale rose 0.24 percent, Poly Developments rallied 1.58 percent, China Vanke sank 0.71 percent and China Fortune Land surged 2.80 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and spent most of the session in the red, finishing with modest losses.

The Dow shed 56.88 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 33,561.81, while the NASDAQ dropped 77.37 points or 0.63 percent to close at 12,179.55 and the S&P 500 sank 18.95 points or 0.46 percent to end at 4,119.17.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders continued to move money out of relatively risky assets like stocks ahead of the release of key inflation data later today.

The reports on consumer and producer price inflation, which are due to be released on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

The weakness on Wall Street may also have reflected concerns about the debt ceiling ahead of a meeting between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. that could result in default if not addressed.

Crude oil prices shook off early weakness to finish higher amid expectations of higher seasonal demand and on the U.S. government's plans to refill the emergency oil reserve. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June settled at $73.71 a barrel, gaining $0.55 or 0.8 percent.