BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, surging more than 140 points or 4.4 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,360-point plateau although the rally may stall on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on profit taking and on concerns for a COVID-19 vaccine. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The SCI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the insurance companies, weakness from the properties and oil companies and a mixed picture from the financials.
For the day, the index rose 1.28 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 3,359.75 after trading between 3,334.50 and 3,361.83. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 14.83 points or 0.65 percent to end at 2,304.19.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped 0.81 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.62 percent, China Construction Bank sank 0.96 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.61 percent, Bank of Communications lost 0.43 percent, China Life Insurance rose 0.30 percent, Ping An Insurance gained 0.64 percent, PetroChina slid 0.72 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) was down 0.51 percent, China Shenhua Energy added 0.30 percent, Gemdale plummeted 2.34 percent, Poly Developments tumbled 1.34 percent and China Vanke skidded 1.13 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks opened lower and largely remained that way, finishing in the red after three straight sessions of gains.
The Dow sank 157.71 points or 0.55 percent to finish at 28,679.81, while the NASDAQ slid 12.36 points or 0.10 percent to end at 11,863.90 and the S&P 500 fell 22.29 points or 0.63 percent to close at 3,511.93.
The pullback on Wall Street may partly have reflected profit taking after the major averages climbed to their best closing levels in over a month on Monday.
Negative sentiment was also generated in reaction to news that Johnson & Johnson has paused a late-stage trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate due to an unexplained illness in a study participant.
Uncertainty about a new stimulus bill also weighed on Wall Street, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continued her attacks on the White House's latest offer.
In economic news, the Labor Department reported a modest increase in consumer prices last month, with the uptick in prices matching estimates.
Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday, lifted by a jump in Chinese crude oil imports last month. But the upside was capped by a surge in crude output in the Gulf of Mexico region as work in oil facilities resumed after Hurricane Delta. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for November ended up $0.77 or 2 percent at $40.20 a barrel.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2020 AFX News
