Steady Start Eyed For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 20 points or 0.6 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just shy of the 3,325-point plateau although it may find traction again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to higher amidst a lack of strong catalysts. The European and U.S. markets finished barely higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday as losses from the resource and property stocks were mitigated by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index sank 31.34 points or 0.93 percent to finish at 3,324.49 after trading between 3,314.30 and 3,366.01. The Shenzhen Composite Index plunged 41.30 points or 2.02 percent to end at 2,007.34.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China jumped 1.87 percent, while Bank of China rallied 2.21 percent, China Construction Bank improved 0.80 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.79 percent, Agricultural Bank of China advanced 0.95 percent, China Life Insurance skidded 1.09 percent, Jiangxi Copper declined 1.27 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) lost 0.53 percent, Yankuang Energy dropped 0.98 percent, PetroChina perked 0.12 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) shed 0.50 percent, Huaneng Power advanced 0.92 percent, China Shenhua Energy tumbled 1.80 percent, Gemdale tanked 2.50 percent, Poly Developments retreated 1.89 percent and China Vanke stumbled 2.08 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is flat to higher as the major averages spent most of Tuesday in the shallow red before a late push nudged them barely into positive territory at the close.

The Dow added 10.26 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 44,556.34, while the NASDAQ rose 14.49 points or 0.07 percent to close at 20,041.26 and the S&P gained 14.95 points or 0.24 percent to end at a record 6,139.58.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as some traders remained on the sidelines following the Presidents' Day holiday on Monday.

In economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York noted a turnaround by regional manufacturing activity in February. Also, the National Association of Home Builders said homebuilder confidence in the U.S. has unexpectedly deteriorated in February.

Oil prices moved higher on Tuesday on supply concerns after Ukraine launched a drone attack on an export pipeline in Russia. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March settled at $71.85 a barrel, gaining $1.11, or 1.57 percent.