China Stock Market May Halt Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, sinking more than 50 points or 1.7 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,020-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over earnings season. The European and U.S. markets were solidly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday as losses from the properties and resource stocks were mitigated by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index sank 22.62 points or 0.74 percent to finish at 3,021.98 after trading between 3,016.52 and 3,044.94. The Shenzhen Composite Index dipped 3.22 points or 0.19 percent to end at 1,675.05.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.36 percent, while China Construction Bank perked 0.14 percent, China Merchants Bank was up 0.12 percent, Bank of Communications climbed 1.17 percent, China Life Insurance added 0.42 percent, Jiangxi Copper plummeted 6.24 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) plunged 5.75 percent, Yankuang Energy retreated 1.79 percent, PetroChina tanked 2.63 percent, China Petroleum nd Chemical (Sinopec) slumped 1.23 percent, Huaneng Power tumbled 2.00 percent, China Shenhua Energy dropped 0.99 percent, Poly Developments lost 0.62 percent, China Vanke surrendered 1.79 percent and Bank of China and Gemdale were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and remained well in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow jumped 263.71 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 38,503.69, while the NASDAQ spiked 245.33 points or 1.59 percent to end at 15,696.64 and the S&P 500 rallied 59.95 points or 1.20 percent to close at 5,070.55.

Quarterly earnings guided the markets, with Globe Life, GE Aerospace, Kimberly-Clark and General Motors advancing on strong results.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported that new home sales jumped more than expected in March, although building permits slumped.

Traders await more economic data this week, including the release of first-quarter U.S. GDP data as well as the core personal-consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation.

Oil prices moved higher on Tuesday after data showed a slowdown in U.S. manufacturing activity in April, raising hopes the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates soon. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for June rose $1.46 or 1.78 percent at $83.36 a barrel.