Shanghai Stocks May Reclaim 3,400-Point Plateau

(RTTNews) - The China stock market moved higher again on Monday, one session after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 20 points or 0.6 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just shy of the 3,390-point plateau and it's expected to move to the upside again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on hopes for an end to hostilities between Israel and Iran. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares and property stocks, while the resource companies were mixed.

For the day, the index added 11.73 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 3,388.73 after trading between 3,368.88 and 3,389.76. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 11.87 points or 0.59 percent to end at 2,012.93.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China climbed 0.71 percent, while Bank of China improved 0.75 percent, Agricultural Bank of China gained 0.54 percent, China Merchants Bank expanded 1.33 percent, Bank of Communications jumped 1.93 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.52 percent, Jiangxi Copper slipped 0.40 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) strengthened 1.47 percent, Yankuang Energy lost 0.62 percent, PetroChina added 0.33 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) fell 0.34 percent, Huaneng Power rose 0.27 percent, China Shenhua Energy shed 0.56 percent, Gemdale soared 3.58 percent, Poly Developments spiked 2.23 percent and China Vanke rallied 2.02 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Monday and remained in the green throughout the trading day, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 317.30 points or 0.75 percent to finish at 42,515.09, while the NASDAQ rallied 294.39 points or 1.52 percent to close at 19,701.21 and the S&P 500 gained 56.14 points or 0.94 percent to end at 6,033.11.

The rally on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following the previous session's nosedive, which came after Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Iran.

The rebound on Wall Street also came as traders looked ahead to a meeting of major world leaders at the G7 summit in the Canadian Rockies later this week.

The Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy announcement is also likely to attract attention from traders in the coming days. While the central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, the accompanying statement and Fed officials' latest projections may provide more clarity about the outlook for rates.

Crude oil price fell sharply on Monday after reports that Iran signaled its readiness to end its hostility with Israel. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for July delivery closed down by $1.21 to settle at $71.77 per barrel.