BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has tracked higher in back-to-back trading days, advancing almost 50 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,570-point plateau although it's expected to run out of steam on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on rising coronavirus cases and concern over the outlook for interest rates, although support from crude oil may limit the downside. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials, resource stocks and energy companies, while the properties were mixed.
For the day, the index gained 28.25 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 3,569.91 after trading between 3,531.33 and 3,579.31. The Shenzhen Composite Index dipped 8.18 points or 0.33 percent to end at 2,464.83.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China advanced 0.86 percent, while Bank of China climbed 0.97 percent, China Construction Bank jumped 1.51 percent, China Merchants Bank gained 0.89 percent, Bank of Communications spiked 2.13 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.59 percent, Jiangxi Copper added 0.45 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) strengthened 1.54 percent, Yankuang Energy surged 3.54 percent, PetroChina soared 3.20 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) was up 2.60 percent, Huaneng Power skyrocketed 8.45 percent, China Shenhua Energy rallied 4.24 percent, Gemdale accelerated 4.80 percent, Poly Developments improved 5.07 percent, China Vanke increased 3.45 percent, China Fortune Land sank 0.84 percent and Beijing Capital Development dropped 1.14 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened sharply lower on Tuesday and remained in the red throughout the trading day.
The Dow plummeted 543.34 points or 1.51 percent to finish at 35,368.34, while the NASDAQ tumbled 268.15 points or 1.56 percent to close at 14,506.90 and the S&P 500 sank 85.74 points or 1.84 percent to end at 4,577.11.
The weakness on Wall Street followed a surge in Treasury yields due to concerns about imminent interest rate hikes, spooking investors and encouraging them to cash in.
Lingering worries about the surge in cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in several countries contribute as well to the bearish mood in the market.
In economic news, the New York Empire State Manufacturing Index for January came in well shy of expectations, as did the NAHB Housing Market index.
Crude oil prices spiked on Tuesday, extending gains from the previous session. West Texas Intermediate Crude for February delivery climbed $1.39 or 1.63 percent to close at $86.82 per barrel.
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