China Bourse May Halt Losing Streak On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, slumping almost 120 points or 3.7 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite now sits just beneath the 3,325-point plateau although it's due for support on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with technology and oil stocks expected to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were mostly higher and the Asian bourses are also likely to open to the upside. The SCI finished slightly lower on Monday as losses from the resource stocks were mitigated by support from the financial shares and properties. For the day, the index slipped 6.88 points or 0.,21 percent to finish at 3,323.85 after trading between 3,309.01 and 3,386.90. The Shenzhen Composite Index stumbled 43.83 points or 2.18 percent to end at 1,966.78. Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China accelerated 2.31 percent, while Bank of China spiked 2.88 percent, China Construction Bank climbed 1.01 percent, China Merchants Bank rose 0.21 percent, Agricultural Bank of China collected 2.13 percent, China Life Insurance was up 0.09 percent, Jiangxi Copper fell 0.23 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) tumbled 2.26 percent, Yankuang Energy improved 0.58 percent, PetroChina and China Vanke both strengthened 1.49 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) gained 0.63 percent, Huaneng Power rallied 1.40 percent, China Shenhua Energy soared 3.21 percent, Gemdale jumped 1.90 percent and Poly Developments added 0.69 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened on opposite sides of the line on Monday and maintained a fairly narrow trading range before ending mixed.

The Dow shed 55.39 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 43,389.60, while the NASDAQ climbed 111.69 points or 0.60 percent to close at 18,791.81 and the S&P 500 added 23.00 points or 0.39 percent to end at 5,893.62.

The strength on Wall Street reflected bargain hunting as traders look to pick up stocks at reduced levels following last week's steep drop amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Home Builders said homebuilder confidence has improved much more than anticipated in November, hitting its highest level since April.

Oil prices climbed higher on Monday on concerns about likely shortage in supplies due to an escalation in Russia - Ukraine war, while a weaker dollar also contributed to the rise in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December closed higher by $2.14 or 3.2 percent at 69.16 a barrel.