Rebound Predicted For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Tuesday wrote a finish to the three-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 30 points or 0.9 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,200-point plateau although it may bounce higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to slightly higher, with apprehension reigning over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets saw mild upside and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The SCI finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares and mixed performances from the properties and resource stocks.

For the day, the index dropped 37.10 points or 1.15 percent to finish at 3,195.34 after trading between 3,189.27 and 3,247.35. The Shenzhen Composite Index tumbled 35.08 points or 1.73 percent to end at 1,998.62.

Among the actives, Bank of China rose 0.25 percent, while China Construction Bank dipped 0.15 percent, China Merchants Bank perked 0.09 percent, Bank of Communications collected 0.68 percent, China Life Insurance shed 0.61 percent, Jiangxi Copper lost 0.63 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) added 0.55 percent, Yankuang Energy was up 0.29 percent, PetroChina sank 0.78 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) fell 0.30 percent, Huaneng Power plummeted 4.25 percent, China Shenhua Energy rallied 2.63 percent, Poly Developments gathered 0.70 percent, China Vanke gained 0.70 percent, China Fortune Land improved 0.43 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Gemdale were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages spent much of Tuesday bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, finally finishing with slight gains.

The Dow rose 10.42 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 33,573.28, while the NASDAQ added 46.99 points or 0.36 percent to close at 13,276.42 and the S&P 500 picked up 10.06 points or 0.24 percent to end at 4,283.85.

Traders remained reluctant to make significant moves as they continue to look ahead to next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

The Fed is due to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday, with the central bank widely expected to pause its recent series of interest rate hikes.

Crude oil prices slumped Tuesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to economic slowdown and interest rate hikes. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July fell $0.41 or 0.6 percent at $71.74 a barrel.

Closer to home, China will release May numbers for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to fall 8.0 percent on year after losing 7.9 percent in April. Exports are called higher by an annual 8.0 percent, easing from 8.5 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at $71.60 billion, down from $90.21 billion a month earlier.