BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has tracked lower in consecutive trading days, retreating more than 45 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,545-point plateau and it's expected to extend its losses again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation amid volatility and uncertainty, with crude oil prices offering slight support. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished sharply lower on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares, resource stocks and properties.
For the day, the index dropped 44.77 points or 1.25 percent to finish at 3,546.94 after trading between 3,515.14 and 3,583.64. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 39.64 points or 1.65 percent to end at 2,363.81.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 0.21 percent, while China Construction Bank fell 0.33 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.17 percent, China Life Insurance added 0.34 percent, Jiangxi Copper tanked 2.61 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) plunged 4.44 percent, Yanzhou Coal jumped 1.94 percent, PetroChina declined 2.44 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) tumbled 2.38 percent, Huaneng Power surrendered 2.92 percent, China Shenhua Energy sank 0.80 percent, Gemdale surged 4.09 percent, Poly Developments climbed 1.44 percent, China Vanke advanced 0.90 percent, China Fortune Land plummeted 4.85 percent, Beijing Capital Development gained 0.75 percent and Bank of China and Bank of Communications were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street ends up being negative as the major averages spent all of Tuesday bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before finally settling slightly in the red.
The Dow dropped 117.72 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 34,378.34, while the NASDAQ dipped 20.28 points or 0.14 percent to close at 14,465.92 and the S&P 500 fell 10.54 points or 0.24 percent to end at 4,350.65.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed uncertainty about the outlook for the markets following the volatility seen throughout early October. Concerns about inflation and the Federal Reserve scaling back stimulus as early as next month also weighed.
Earnings news was also on traders' minds, with financial giant JPMorgan Chase (JPM) due to report Q3 results later today. Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), Morgan Stanley (MS), Wells Fargo (WFC), and Goldman Sachs (GS) are also due to report their results in the coming days.
Crude oil futures settled slightly higher Tuesday after prices moved up amid speculation the fuel market could get tighter this winter. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November rose $0.12 or about 0.2 percent at $80.64 a barrel.
Closer to home, China will release September figures for imports, exports and trade balance later this morning. Imports are expected to climb 20.0 percent on year, slowing from 33.1 percent in August. Exports are called higher by an annual 21.01 percent, down from 25.6 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at $46.8 billion, down from $58.34 billion a month earlier.
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