BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market on Tuesday snapped the three-day losing streak in which it had fallen more than 30 points or 0.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,565-point plateau although it's expected to turn lower again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on continued COVID-19 worries and concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished barely higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financials and resource companies.
For the day, the index rose 1.19 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 3,563.89 after trading between 3,546.36 and 3,582.11. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 2.33 points or 0.09 percent to end at 2,519.27.
Among the actives, Bank of China shed 0.33 percent, while China Merchants Bank lost 0.66 percent, Bank of Communications fell 0.22 percent, China Life Insurance rallied 2.53 percent, Jiangxi Copper sank 0.74 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) dropped 0.95 percent, Yanzhou Coal skidded 1.09 percent, PetroChina declined 0.63 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) slid 0.49 percent, Huaneng Power was down 0.32 percent, China Shenhua Energy eased 0.15 percent, Gemdale retreated 0.99 percent, Poly Developments dipped 0.72 percent, China Vanke surrendered 1.08 percent, China Fortune Land tanked 2.08 percent and China Minsheng Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and remained largely under water throughout the trading day.
The Dow plummeted 652.22 points or 1.86 percent to finish at 34,483.72, while the NASDAQ tumbled 245.14 points or 1.55 percent to close at 15,537.69 and the S&P 500 dropped 88.26 points or 1.90 percent to end at 4,567.01.
The sell-off on Wall Street partly reflected renewed concerns about the new coronavirus variant after Moderna's (MRNA) CEO said in an interview that COVID-19 vaccines are likely to be less effective against Omicron.
Stocks saw further downside after Federal Reserve Jerome Powell suggested during Congressional testimony that the central bank would discuss accelerating the pace at which it reduces its asset purchases during the next monetary policy meeting to contend with inflation.
Crude oil prices declined sharply on Tuesday amid fresh concerns about the outlook for oil and jet fuel demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended down by $3.77 or 5.4 percent at $66.18 a barrel.
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