BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market on Monday ended the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 15 points or 0.5 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,045-point plateau although it may bounce slightly higher on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat with a touch of upside on bargain hunting after heavy selling in the previous session. The European markets were slightly lower and the U.S. bourses were mixed and barely changed and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished sharply lower on Monday across all sectors - especially the properties, insurance companies and energy producers.
For the day, the index retreated 61.12 points or 1.97 percent to finish at 3,043.03 after trading between 3,041.95 and 3,087.00. The Shenzhen Composite Index sank 24.51 points or 1.44 percent to end at 1,676.43.
Among the actives, China Construction Bank declined 2.70 percent, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China tumbled 1.97 percent, Bank of China skidded 1.84 percent, China Merchants Bank dropped 3.65 percent, China Life Insurance plunged 5.43 percent, Ping An Insurance retreated 3.25 percent, PetroChina contracted 2.19 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) sank 5.43 percent, China Shenhua Energy plummeted 5.49 percent, Gemdale was down 4.12 percent, Poly Developments lost 3.44 percent, China Vanke fell 3.53 percent and CITIC Securities slid 4.44 percent.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as stocks showed a lack of direction on Monday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing mixed.
The Dow added 14.51 points or 0.06 percent to 25,516.83, while the NASDAQ lost 5.13 points or 0.07 percent to 7,637.54 and the S&P 500 fell 2.35 points or 0.08 percent to 2,798.36.
Traders were reluctant to take long positions ahead of the latest round of high-level trade talks between the U.S. and China this week in Beijing.
Meanwhile, lingering concerns about the outlook for the economy continued to weigh on the markets after dragging stocks sharply lower last Friday.
An inversion of the yield curve contributed to economic worries, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note falling below the yield on three-month bills. The inverted yield curve has not occurred since 2007 and is seen by many as an indication that a recession is on the way.
Crude oil prices dipped on Monday, as fears of a drop in energy demand due to global economic slowdown outweighed optimism over OPEC-led supply cuts and the U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela. West Texas Crude oil futures for May ended down $0.22 or 0.4 percent at $58.82 a barrel.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX