BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has finished lower in consecutive trading days, plunging almost 250 points or 6.6 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,060-point plateau although it's tipped to open in the green on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on bargain hunting, particularly among the recently battered technology stocks. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished sharply lower on Tuesday with damage across the board - especially among the financials, properties and resource stocks.
For the day, the index tumbled 159.57 points or 4.95 percent to finish at the daily low of 3,063.97 after peaking at 3,196.92. The Shenzhen Composite Index slumped 96.09 points or 4.56 percent to end at 2,013.37.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China skidded 1.09 percent. while Bank of China skidded 1.94 percent, China Construction Bank declined 2.35 percent, China Merchants Bank plummeted 6.41 percent, Bank of Communications retreated 3.97 percent, China Life Insurance plunged 5.96 percent, Jiangxi Copper cratered 8.82 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) surrendered 9.97 percent, Yankuang Energy sank 6.20 percent, PetroChina dropped 8.42 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) lost 3.16 percent, Huaneng Power tumbled 6.23 percent, China Shenhua Energy stumbled 7.90 percent, Gemdale and Poly Developments both slumped 9.98 percent, China Vanke fell 8.02 percent, China Fortune Land gave away 8.39 percent and Beijing Capital Development weakened 6.90 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and accelerated as the day progressed, finishing near daily highs.
The Dow soared 599.10 points or 1.82 percent to finish at 33,544.34, while the NASDAQ surged 367.40 points or 2.92 percent to end at 12,948.62 and the S&P 500 jumped 89.34 points or 2.14 percent to close at 4,262.45.
The rebound on Wall Street followed Monday's downturn as traders picked up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness - particularly on the tech-heavy NASDAQ, which had fallen to its lowest closing level in over a year.
Traders also reacted positively to a report from the Labor Department showing producer prices increased slightly less than expected in February, even as the Federal Reserve prepares to announce its first rate hike since 2018 later today.
Crude oil prices fell sharply Tuesday amid fresh concerns over demand from China, where there has been a surge in Covid-19 cases, and on easing worries about supply disruptions. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April dropped $6.57 or 6.4 percent at $96.44 a barrel, more than 25 percent off a recent high of $130.50 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed 5.8 percent on Monday.
Closer to home, China will release February's house price index later today; in January, prices were up 2.3 percent on year.
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