BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has moved lower in consecutive trading days, although it has fallen just seven points or 0.2 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 2,595-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on global trade and interest rate concerns. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished slightly lower on Tuesday as gains from the financials and properties offset weakness from the broader market.
For the day, the index eased 2.73 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 2,594.25 after trading between 2,559.98 and 2,601.74. The Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 14.65 points or 1.11 percent to end at 1,300.34.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.73 percent, while Bank of China gained 0.83 percent, China Construction Bank climbed 1.18 percent, China Merchants Bank eased 0.07 percent, China Life Insurance rose 0.85 percent, Ping An Insurance added 0.21 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) perked 1.08 percent, China Shenhua Energy gathered 0.50 percent, Gemdale surged 4.66 percent, China Vanke soared 3.15 percent, Poly Developments spiked 2.86 percent and PetroChina was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is inconclusive as stocks turned in lackluster performance on Tuesday, eventually ending the session mixed.
The Dow added 51.74 points or 0.,21 percent to finish at 24,579.96, while the NASDAQ shed 57.39 points or 0.81 percent to 7,028.29 and the S&P 500 fell 3.85 points or 0.15 percent to 2,640.00.
The choppy trading on Wall Street reflected a mixed reaction to earnings news from big-name companies such as 3M (MMM), Pfizer (PFE), and Verizon (VZ).
The Federal Reserve's impending monetary policy announcement later today also kept some traders on the sidelines, along with Friday's release of the Labor Department's monthly jobs report.
Traders also expressed uncertainty about trade talks between the U.S. and China after the Justice Department unsealed sweeping criminal charges against Chinese tech giant Huawei and its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.
Crude oil prices rebounded strongly on Tuesday, riding news that the United States sanctioned Venezuela's state-owned oil company. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended up $1.32 or 2.5 percent at $53.31 a barrel.
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