China Stock Market Poised To End Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has ticked lower in three straight sessions, slipping more than 30 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,350-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with technology stocks expected to lead the way higher. The European markets were flat and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Monday as losses from the properties were offset by support from the financials and resource stocks.

For the day, the index slipped 16.81 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 3,351.26 after trading between 3,348.28 and 3,384.99. The Shenzhen Composite Index tumbled 46.79 points or 2.29 percent to end at 1,995.10.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China spiked 2.60 percent, while Bank of China jumped 1.90 percent, China Construction Bank rallied 1.65 percent, China Merchants Bank strengthened 1.16 percent, Agricultural Bank of China soared 2.98 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.27 percent, Jiangxi Copper climbed 1.02 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) perked 0.14 percent, Yankuang Energy shed 0.43 percent, PetroChina accelerated 2.88 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) improved 2.51 percent, Huaneng Power advanced 1.16 percent, China Shenhua Energy gained 1.06 percent, Gemdale skidded 1.29 percent, Poly Developments slumped 1.28 percent and China Vanke tumbled 2.05 percent.

The lead from Wall Street positive as the major averages opened flat on Monday but all eventually tracked higher and ended in the green.

The Dow added 66.69 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 42,906.95, while the NASDAQ spiked 192.29 points or 0.98 percent to close at 19,764.88 and the S&P 600 gained 43.22 points or 0.73 percent to end at 5,974.07.

The advance by the tech-heavy NASDAQ came amid a rally by semiconductor stocks, while significant strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks.

Overall trading activity was subdued, however, as traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves amid what is likely to be a quiet week due to the Christmas Day holiday on Wednesday.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods slumped more than expected in November. Also, the Conference Board noted an unexpected deterioration by consumer confidence in December.

Oil futures settled lower Monday amid concerns about possible excess supply in the market, while a stronger dollar also weighed on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February dipped $0.26 or 0.3 percent at $69.20 a barrel.