BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market on Monday halted the four-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 60 points or 2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,940-point plateau and it may see continued consolidation on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky ahead of the FOMC's rate decision on Wednesday. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished slightly lower on Monday following losses from the financials, properties and oil and insurance companies.
For the day, the index dipped 3.53 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 2,941.01 after trading between 2,932.98 and 2,948.47. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 1.50 points or 0.10 percent to end at 1,574.95.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.70 percent, while China Construction Bank collected 0.14 percent, China Merchants Bank dropped 1.05 percent, China Life Insurance skidded 1.22 percent, Ping An Insurance sank 0.72 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) lost 0.57 percent, China Shenhua Energy slid 0.58 percent, Gemdale eased 0.16 percent, Poly Developments eased 0.07 percent, China Vanke fell 0.87 percent, CITIC Securities retreated 0.94 percent and China Minsheng Bank, Bank of China and PetroChina were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as traders stuck to the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. The major averages eventually ended the session mixed.
The Dow rose 28.90 points or 0.11 percent to 27,221.35, while the NASDAQ shed 36.88 points or 0.44 percent to 8,293.33 and the S&P 500 fell 4.89 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 3,020.97.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders looked ahead to the Fed announcement, with the central bank widely expected to cut rates by at least 25 basis points. Traders are likely to pay close attention to the accompanying statement for clues about the potential for future rate cuts.
On Friday, the Labor Department is due to release it closely watched monthly jobs report, which could also have a significant impact on the outlook for rates.
Crude oil prices moved higher Monday on optimism ahead of the upcoming U.S.-China trade discussions and on an imminent rate cut by the Federal Reserve. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September settled at $56.87 a barrel, up $0.67 or 1.2 percent per barrel.
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