Steady Start Eyes For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Tuesday ended the three-day slide in which it had fallen more than 30 points or 1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,050-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement ahead of key inflation data later today. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SCI finished barely higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the properties and energy companies, while the financials were soft.

For the day, the index perked 1.48 points or 0,05 percent to finish at 3,048.54 after trading between 3,033.21 and 3,051.59. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 14.30 points or 0.82 percent to end at 1,750.80.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China declined 1.30 percent, while Bank of China slumped 0.88 percent, China Construction Bank was down 0.43 percent, China Merchants Bank slid 0.28 percent, Bank of Communications sank 0.61 percent, China Life Insurance dropped 0.99 percent, Jiangxi Copper fell 0.43 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) tumbled 1.77 percent, Yankuang Energy lost 0.65 percent, PetroChina retreated 1.46 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) plunged 2.76 percent, Huaneng Power shed 0.51 percent, China Shenhua Energy rose 0.28 percent, Gemdale jumped 1.40 percent, Poly Developments dropped 0.93 percent and China Vanke eased 0.13 percent.

The lead from Wall Street continues to be murky as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday but quickly headed south to spend most of the day in the red before a late rally saw them finish mixed and little changed.

The Dow shed 9.13 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 38,883.67, while the NASDAQ gained 52.68 points or 0.32 percent to close at 16,306.64 and the S&P 500 rose 7.52 points or 0.14 percent to end at 5,209.91.

The volatility on Wall Street came as traders continued to look ahead to the release of the Labor Department's report on consumer price inflation later today.

The inflation data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates, as Federal Reserve officials have repeatedly said they need greater confidence that inflation is slowing before cutting rates.

Wednesday will also see the release of the minutes of the Fed's latest monetary policy meeting, which could also shed additional light on officials' thinking on rates.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday, slumping for a second straight session as traders assessed the prospect of meaningful progress in Gaza ceasefire talks. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May sank $1.20 or 1.4 percent at $85.23 a barrel.