BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has ticked lower in back-to-back trading days, although it has fallen just 7 points or 0.2 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,240-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on trade issues, concerns over quarterly results and sliding crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished slightly lower on Tuesday as losses from the financial shares and oil companies were mitigated by support from the property sector.
For the day, the index eased 5.15 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 3,239.66 after trading between 3,215.70 and 3,251.65. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 12.81 points or 0.72 percent to end at 1,783.01.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.69 percent, while Bank of China sank 0.77 percent, China Construction Bank lost 0.68 percent, China Merchants Bank tumbled 1.95 percent, China Life Insurance plunged 2.52 percent, Ping An Insurance collected 0.63 percent, PetroChina dipped 0.51 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) skidded 1.16 percent, China Shenhua Energy retreated 1.51 percent, China Vanke surged 6.15 percent, Gemdale soared 4.75 percent and Poly Developments spiked 3.18 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks opened lower on Tuesday, pared their losses as the day progressed but still finished firmly in the red.
The Dow shed 190.44 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 26,150.58, while the NASDAQ lost 44.61 points or 0.56 percent to 7,909.28 and the S&P 500 fell 17.57 points or 0.61 percent to 2,878.20.
The weakness on Wall Street came as traders went to safe havens ahead of earnings season. Financial giants JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) are due to report quarterly results on Friday, shedding light on a difficult quarter.
Concerns about the global economic outlook also weighed on markets after President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on European goods in response to European Union subsidies to Airbus.
The trade dispute between Trump and the EU comes amid lingering uncertainty about the U.S. and China reaching a final trade agreement.
Crude oil futures pared early gains and ended lower on Tuesday on Russia's comments that it is likely to increase crude production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended down $0.42 at $63.98 a barrel.
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