BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market on Tuesday halted the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 70 points or 2.7 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,645-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the red again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak thanks to disappointing earnings news, plummeting crude oil prices and trade concerns. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.
The SCI finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and oil and insurance companies.
For the day, the index tumbled 57.66 points or 2.13 percent to finish at 2,645.85 after trading between 2,643.36 and 2,690.83. The Shenzhen Composite Index skidded 38.51 points or 2.72 percent to end at 1,378.92.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 1.11 percent, while China Merchants Bank retreated 1.83 percent, Bank of China lost 1.10 percent, China Construction Bank fell 0.59 percent, China Life Insurance tumbled 2.86 percent, Ping An Insurance skidded 2.47 percent, PetroChina slid 1.01 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dropped 1.14 percent, China Shenhua Energy contracted 2.25 percent, Gemdale plummeted 2.31 percent, Poly Developments declined 1.70 percent, China Vanke slid 1.23 percent and CITIC Securities plunged 3.87 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is brutal as stocks showed another significant move to the downside on Tuesday, sending the tech-heavy NASDAQ to its lowest closing level in over seven months.
The Dow plunged 551.80 points or 2.21 percent to 24,465.64, while the NASDAQ shed 119.65 points or 1.70 percent to 6,908.82 and the S&P 500 fell 48.84 points or 1.82 percent to 2,641.89.
The continued weakness on Wall Street reflected disappointing earnings news from companies such as Target (TGT), Kohl's (KSS) and Victoria's Secret parent L Brands (LB). A continued decline by Apple (AAPL) also weighed on the markets.
On the U.S. economic front, a report from the Commerce Department showed housing starts rebounded in October, although the report also showed a decrease in building permits.
Oil prices plunged sharply on Tuesday as rising concerns about the global economic outlook outweighed optimism of production cuts by OPEC and allies. Crude oil futures for January ended down $3.77 or 6.6 percent at $53.43 a barrel, the lowest settlement price in 13 months.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX