BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one day after snapping the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 100 points or 3 percent. The Shanghai Composite index now sits just beneath the 3,450-point plateau although it may head south again on Wednesday.
The global forecast is flat and mixed to lower ahead of the FOMC meeting later today. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday as gains from the financial shares and properties were capped by weakness from the resource stocks.
For the day, the index gained 26.79 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 3,446.73 after trading between 3,406.17 and 3,448.88. The Shenzhen Composite Index climbed 23.57 points or 1.08 percent to end at 2,196.51.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.90 percent, while China Construction Bank jumped 1.74 percent, China Merchants Bank rallied 2.28 percent, China Life Insurance spiked 2.48 percent, Jiangxi Copper plummeted 6.20 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) tumbled 1.99 percent, Yanzhou Coal plunged 5.97 percent, PetroChina dropped 0.89 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) skidded 1.30 percent, Huaneng Power perked 0.45 percent, Baoshan Iron retreated 1.97 percent, Gemdale skyrocketed 6.72 percent, Poly Developments soared 4.01 percent, China Vanke surged 4.64 percent, China Fortune Land advanced 1.17 percent, Beijing Capital Development jumped 1.39 percent and Bank of Communications and Bank of China were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is inconclusive as stocks finished mixed on Tuesday after ending the previous session firmly positive.
The Dow shed 127.51 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 32,825.95, while the NASDAQ rose 11.86 points or 0.09 percent to end at 13,471.57 and the S&P 500 fell 6.23 points or 0.16 percent to close at 3,962.71.
The mixed close on Wall Street came as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. Traders will look for changes to the Fed's statement as well as any revisions to the central bank's forecasts for the economy, inflation and interest rates.
Traders also hope Fed Chair Jerome Powell will address the recent spike in treasury yields in his post-meeting press conference. Ahead of the Fed announcement, treasury yields saw considerable volatility before closing modestly higher.
In economic news, the Commerce Department said retail sales pulled back more than expected last month. Also, the Federal Reserve noted an unexpected slump in U.S. industrial production in February.
Crude oil prices drifted lower on Tuesday amid concerns of a likely drop in energy demand after several countries in Europe have temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended lower by $0.59 or 0.9 percent at $64.80 per barrel, falling for a third straight session.
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