China Stock Market Due For Consolidation

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, advancing almost 160 points or 4.4 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,880-point plateau although it may see profit taking on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, with profit-taking likely on the menu. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets are also expected to open under water. The SCI finished sharply higher on Monday following large gains from the property and resource companies. For the day, the index spiked 57.80 points or 1.51 percent to finish at the daily high of 3,883.56 after trading as low as 3,839.97. The Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 43.11 points or 1.80 percent to end at 2,436.32. Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 0.52 percent, while Bank of China fell 0.35 percent, Agricultural Bank of China shed 0.55 percent, China Merchants Bank climbed 1.41 percent, Jiangxi Copper accelerated 9.10 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) rallied 4.66 percent, Yankuang Energy jumped 1.90 percent, PetroChina advanced 0.92 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) perked 0.17 percent, Huaneng Power climbed 1.78 percent, Gemdale surged 6.53 percent, Poly Developments soared 4.27 percent and China Vanke skyrocketed 9.15 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Monday and spent most of the day under water, finishing near daily lows.

The Dow stumbled 349.27 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 45,282.47, while the NASDAQ sank 47.24 points or 0.22 percent to close at 21,449.29 and the S&P 500 lost 27.59 points or 0.43 percent to end at 6,439.32.

Profit taking contributed to the initial weakness on Wall Street, as some traders looked to cash in on the strong gains posted last Friday, which lifted the Dow to a new record closing high.

The rally seen during last Friday's session came as remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell seemed to indicate the central bank is likely to lower interest rates next month.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a repot this morning showing new home sales in the U.S. decreased from an upwardly revised level in July.

Crude oil jumped on Monday, on concerns that Western sanctions on Russian oil exports may continue longer than anticipated. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was up $1.20 or 1.89 percent at $64.86 per barrel.