Continued Consolidation Predicted For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Tuesday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had gained more than 75 points or 2.5 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,960-point plateau and it may take further damage on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative, with technology and oil stocks likely to lead the way lower. The European and U.S. markets were mostly in the red and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday as losses from the properties were mitigated by support from the financials and energy companies.

For the day, the index sank 12.66 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 2,962.28 after trading between 2,962.28 and 2,976.27. The Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 14.00 points or 0.76 percent to end at 1,823.85.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 0.21 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.50 percent, China Construction Bank added 0.61 percent, China Merchants Bank dropped 0.86 percent, Bank of Communications gained 0.70 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 1.27 percent, Jiangxi Copper strengthened 1.23 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) perked 0.18 percent, Yankuang Energy soared 3.63 percent, PetroChina climbed 1.13 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) improved 0.72 percent, Huaneng Power surged 3.90 percent, China Shenhua Energy rallied 3.29 percent, Gemdale tumbled 2.75 percent, Poly Developments plummeted 4.75 percent and China Vanke plunged2.96 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averaged opened lower on Tuesday and only the Dow was able to peek barely into positive territory by the session's end.

The Dow rose 25.50 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 37,715.04, while the NASDAQ tumbled 245.41 points or 1.63 percent to end at 14,765.94 and the S&P 500 sank 27.00 points or 0.57 percent to close at 4,742.83.

The weakness in the broader markets came as traders continued to cash in on recent strength, particularly among technology stocks.

A steep drop by shares of Apple (AAPL) weighed on the tech sector, with the iPhone maker tumbling by 3.6 percent to its lowest closing level in well over a month after Barclays downgraded its rating on the company's stock to Underweight from Equal Weight.

The price of crude oil couldn't hold early gains and showed a substantial downturn on Tuesday over escalating Middle East tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery surged nearly $2 to a high of $73.64 a barrel early in the session but pulled back sharply to close down $1.27 or 1.8 percent at $70.38 a barrel.