Profit Taking Predicted For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has climbed higher in four straight sessions, collecting almost 90 points or 3 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,050-point plateau although investors are likely to cash in on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests further consolidation on concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets also figure to open in the red.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the resource and property sectors.

For the day, the index added 8.49 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 3,047.79 after trading between 3,022.18 and 3,052.54. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 10.21 points or 0.59 percent to end at 1,718.31.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China soared 2.63 percent, while China Construction Bank and Bank of China both collected 2.00 percent, China Merchants Bank rallied 2.09 percent, Bank of Communications spiked 2.24 percent, China Life Insurance strengthened 1.26 percent, Jiangxi Copper fell 0.35 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) added 0.48 percent, Yankuang Energy eased 0.18 percent, PetroChina sank 0.77 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) improved 0.79 percent, Huaneng Power jumped 2.01 percent, China Shenhua Energy accelerated 1.44 percent, Gemdale retreated 1.23 percent, Poly Developments gained 1.63 percent and China Vanke rose 0.53 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained deep in the red throughout the session, ending near daily lows.

The Dow plummeted 404.64 points or 1.04 percent to finish at 38,585.19, while the NASDAQ tumbled 267.92 points or 1.65 percent to close at 15,939.59 and the S&P 500 sank 52.30 points or 1.02 percent to end at 5,078.65.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders continued to cash in on recent strength in the markets, which lifted the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ to record closing highs last week.

Uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates also weighed on the markets ahead of congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He's due to testify before the House Financial Services Committee later today and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. service sector growth slowed more than expected in February. Also, The Commerce Department noted a drop in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in January.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Tuesday, falling for the second consecutive session on concerns about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down $0.59 at $78.15 a barrel.