BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 15 points or 0.4 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,590-point plateau although it's expected climb higher again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly positive on easing virus concerns and surging crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the oil companies, gains from the financials and properties and a mixed picture from the resource companies.
For the day, the index slipped 18.13 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 3,589.31 after trading between 3,586.81 and 3,626.13. The Shenzhen Composite Index sank 30.88 point or 1.22 percent to end at 2,495.50.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.43 percent, while China Construction Bank gained 0.69 percent, China Merchants Bank climbed 1.11 percent, China Life Insurance added 0.51 percent, Jiangxi Copper improved 0.61 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) skyrocketed 10.02 percent, Yanzhou Coal tanked 2.44 percent, PetroChina lost 0.51 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) shed 0.48 percent, Huaneng Power jumped 1.52 percent, China Shenhua Energy tumbled 1.81 percent, Gemdale soared 2.47 percent, Poly Developments rallied 2.17 percent, China Vanke advanced 1.14 percent, China Fortune Land soared 3.31 percent and Bank of China and Bank of Communications were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened mostly higher on Monday and accelerated as the day progressed.
The Dow surged 646.95 points or 1.87 percent to finish at 35,227.03, while the NASDAQ advanced 139.68 points or 0.93 percent to end at 15,225.15 and the S&P 500 gained 53.24 points or 1.17 percent to close at 4,591.67.
The strength on Wall Street partly reflected easing concerns about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus amid indications the new strain causes milder symptoms.
President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN it is too early to make definitive statements but said early signals regarding the severity of Omicron are encouraging.
Meanwhile, the jump by the Dow comes amid standout gains by Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), Boeing (BA) and Intel (INTC).
Crude oil futures settled sharply higher Monday as Saudi Arabia's Aramco hiked prices of crude exported to Asia and the U.S. and amid easing concerns about Omicron. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for surged $3.23 or 4.9 percent at $69.49 a barrel.
Closer to home, China will provide November numbers for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to climb 19.5 percent on year, slowing from 20.6 percent in October. Exports are called higher by an annual 17.2 percent, down from 27.1 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at $82.75 billion, down from $84.54 billion a month earlier.
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