BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the three-day slide in which it had fallen almost 75 points or 2.1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index remains just beneath the 3,370-point plateau and it's likely to rebound again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on coronavirus vaccine rollout. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were firmly higher and the Asian markets are predicted to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished barely lower on Tuesday, nudged into the red by weakness from the financials, properties and resource stocks.
For the day, the index fell 1.89 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 3,367.23 after trading between 3,348.42 and 3,373.56. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 8.74 points or 0.39 percent to end at 2,256.43.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.79 percent, while Bank of China lost 0.62 percent, China Construction Bank tumbled 1.53 percent, China Merchants Bank eased 0.05 percent, Bank of Communications fell 0.44 percent, China Life Insurance skidded 1.28 percent, Jiangxi Copper surrendered 1.12 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) plunged 1.63 percent, Yanzhou Coal slid 0.74 percent, PetroChina dropped 0.95 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) sank 0.74 percent, China Shenhua Energy climbed 1.20 percent, Gemdale tanked 2.06 percent, Poly Developments retreated 1.17 percent and China Vanke declined 1.28 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is solid as stocks opened firmly higher on Tuesday and extended gains as the session progressed.
The Dow jumped 337.76 points or 1.13 percent to finish at 30,199.31, while the NASDAQ advanced 155.02 points or 1.25 percent to end at 12,595.06 and the S&P 500 gained 47.13 points or 1.29 percent to close at 3,694.62.
The rally on Wall Street came amid unrelenting optimism lawmakers will eventually agree on a new fiscal stimulus bill. Stocks accelerated to the upside following news that congressional leaders are meeting to discuss a relief package.
Adding to the positive sentiment, the Federal Reserve released a report showing U.S. industrial production rose slightly more than expected in November.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Tuesday amid easing concerns about the outlook for energy demand following the rollout of a coronavirus vaccine. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January settled at $47.62 a barrel, gaining $0.63 or 1.3 percent.
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