China Stock Market Due For Support On Monday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, shedding more than 40 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,115-point plateau although it's likely to open higher on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with bargain hunting expected to support the more oversold bourses. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished slightly lower on Friday following losses from the resource stocks and mixed performances from the financials and properties.

For the day, the index slumped 5.63 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 3,116.72 after trading between 3,104.67 and 3,126.04. The Shenzhen Composite Index eased 1.32 points or 0.07 percent to end at 1,935.54.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.65 percent, while Bank of China sank 0.81 percent, China Construction Bank rose 0.17 percent, China Merchants Bank perked 0.09 percent, Bank of Communications lost 0.54 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.68 percent, Jiangxi Copper retreated 1.31 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) tumbled 1.94 percent, Yankuang Energy tanked 2.38 percent, PetroChina surrendered 2.18 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) declined 1.27 percent, Huaneng Power surged 5.69 percent, China Shenhua Energy skidded 1.17 percent, Gemdale advanced 0.96 percent, Poly Developments was down 0.50 percent and China Vanke dropped 0.64 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened in the green on Friday and spent all of the day in positive territory, although they ended well off session highs.

The Dow gained 75.89 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 34,576.59, while the NASDAQ rose 12.73 points or 0.09 percent to close at 13,761.53 and the S&P 500 gained 6.35 points or 0.14 percent to end at 4,457.49. For the week, the NASDAQ tumbled 1.9 percent, the S&P 500 slumped 1.3 percent and the Dow slid 0.8 percent.

The modest strength on Wall Street partly reflected bargain hunting, as some traders pick up stocks at reduced levels following recent weakness. The uptick by the NASDAQ snapped a four-day losing streak.

Some traders may also have felt concerns about the outlook for interest rates, which contributed to the recent weakness, have been overdone.

While recent economic data has led to worries the Federal Reserve may leave rates higher for longer than previously anticipated, the central bank is still widely expected to keep rates unchanged later this month.

Crude oil prices climbed on Friday amid concerns about tightening oil supplies following Russia and Saudi Arabia's decision last week to extend their supply cut to the end of the year. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October rose $0.64 or 0.7 percent at $87.51 a barrel.

Closer to home, China will see August figures for new loans later today; they're expected to come in at $1,150.0 billion - up from $345.9 billion a month earlier. The M2 money stock (10.7 percent) and outstanding loan growth (11.1 percent) are called unchanged.