Renewed Support Expected For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market headed south again on Tuesday, one session after ending the five-day losing streak in which it had surrendered almost 100 points or 2.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,245-point plateau although it's predicted to rebound again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on bargain hunting and encouraging inflation data. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday following losses from the oil companies and mixed performances from the financial shares and property stocks.

For the day, the index lost 23.38 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 3,245.31 after trading between 3,216.99 and 3,262.00. The Shenzhen Composite Index sank 20.49 points or 0.98 percent to end at 2,075.93.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 0.23 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.30 percent, China Merchants Bank retreated 1.34 percent, Bank of Communications perked 0.20 percent, Minsheng Bank lost 0.59 percent, China Life Insurance plunged 3.85 percent, Jiangxi Copper dipped 0.16 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) added 0.54 percent, Yankuang Energy skidded 1.16 percent, PetroChina tanked 2.29 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) eased 0.18 percent, Huaneng Power rallied 2.02 percent, China Shenhua Energy dropped 1.00 percent, Poly Developments gained 0.21 percent, China Vanke shed 0.57 percent, China Fortune Land tumbled 1.93 percent and China Construction Bank and Gemdale were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened sharply higher on Tuesday and remained in the green throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 336.26 points or 1.06 percent to finish at 32,155.40, while the NASDAQ rallied 239.31 points or 2.14 percent to end at 11,428.15 and the S&P 500 advanced 63.53 points or 1.65 percent to close at 3,919.29.

The strength on Wall Street was fueled by bargain hunting, particularly in the banking sector after regulators said there won't be a relapse of the financial crisis from 15 years ago.

Data showing a drop in U.S. consumer prices in February contributed significantly to the positive mood in the market, allaying fears of an accelerated rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

Crude oil prices fell sharply to a nine-week low on Tuesday amid concerns a fresh financial crisis following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank could significantly hurt demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April sank $3.47 or 4.7 percent at $71.33 a barrel.

Closer to home, China is scheduled to release a batch of data today, including February figures for industrial production, retail sales, fixed asset investment and unemployment.

Industrial production is expected to rise 2.6 percent on year, up from 1.3 percent in January. Retail sales are expected to bounce higher by an annual 3.5 percent after sinking 1.8 percent in the previous month. FAI is tipped to advance 4.4 percent on year, slowing from 5.1 percent a month earlier. The jobless rate in January was 5.5 percent.