Win Streak May Continue For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has tracked higher in consecutive trading days, accelerating more than 50 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,280-point plateau and it's predicted to extend its gains on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on bargain hunting and optimism ahead of earnings season. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished slightly higher on Tuesday as gains from the financials and resource stocks were capped by weakness from the property sector.

For the day, the index rose 1.33 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 3,279.43 after trading between 3,256.02 and 3,283.93. The Shenzhen Composite Index perked 2.96 points or 0.13 percent to end at 2,194.92.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China added 0.46 percent, while Bank of China and Bank of Communications both collected 0.66 percent, China Construction Bank rose 0.36 percent, China Merchants Bank perked 0.22 percent, China Life Insurance skidded 1.11 percent, Jiangxi Copper advanced 0.99 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) improved 0.43 percent, Yankuang Energy jumped 1.60 percent, PetroChina gained 0.97 percent, Huaneng Power tanked 2.51 percent, China Shenhua Energy retreated 1.44 percent, Gemdale sank 0.78 percent, Poly Developments was up 0.06 percent, China Vanke shed 0.56 percent, China Fortune Land lost 0.68 percent and Beijing Capital Development and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and only accelerated as the day progressed.

The Dow surged 754.44 points or 2.43 percent to finish at 31,827.05, while the NASDAQ spiked 353.10 points or 3.11 percent to close at 11,713.15 and the S&P 500 jumped 105.84 points or 2.76 percent to end at 3,936.69.

The rebound on Wall Street came as optimism about upcoming earnings news fueled a heavy wave of buying.

In earnings news, toymaker Hasbro (HAS) and oil services giant Halliburton (HAL) beat the street, while IBM Corp. (IBM) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) provided disappointing guidance.

In economic news, the Commerce Department unexpectedly reported a continued decline in housing starts in June.

Crude oil futures ended sharply higher Tuesday amid signs of tighter supplies in the global oil market, while the dollar's continued weakness also contributed to the sharp rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $1.62 or 1.6 percent at $104.22 a barrel.

Closer to home, China will release July rates for its one-year and five-year prime loans later this morning; in June, they were 3.7 percent and 4.45 percent, respectively.