China Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved higher in consecutive trading days, gathering more than 80 points or 2.6 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,300-point plateau although it's predicted to open under pressure on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on geopolitical concerns and fears over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were solidly lower and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the properties and resource stocks, while the financials were mixed.

For the day, the index gained 16.19 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 3,306.52 after trading between 3,282.44 and 3,308.79. The Shenzhen Composite Index perked 4.11 points or 0.19 percent to end at 2,165.77.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 0.23 percent, while China Construction Bank collected 0.36 percent, China Merchants Bank gained 0.52 percent, Bank of Communications shed 0.41 percent, China Life Insurance eased 0.08 percent, Jiangxi Copper advanced 0.95 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) climbed 1.06 percent, Yankuang Energy soared 3.26 percent, PetroChina perked 0.38 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) strengthened 1.52 percent, Huaneng Power shed 0.38 percent, China Shenhua Energy improved 1.12 percent, Gemdale was up 0.10 percent, Poly Developments added 0.59 percent, China Vanke gathered 0.40 percent, China Fortune Land rallied 2.61 percent and Bank of China was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and saw the losses accelerate as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow plummeted 697.10 points or 2.06 percent to finish at 33,129.59, while the NASDAQ plunged 294.97 points or 2.50 percent to close at 11,492.30 and the S&P 500 tumbled 81.75 points or 2.00 percent to end at 3,997.34.

The sell-off on Wall Street reflected ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates amid a spike in treasury yields. The benchmark 10-year yield more than offset the dip seen last Friday, reaching its highest closing level in three months.

Recent economic data has also led to worries the Federal Reserve may raise rates higher than expected and keep them elevated for an extended period. Later today, the Fed will release minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting, which could shed some light on the outlook for interest rates.

Geopolitical concerns also weighed after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is suspending Russia's participation in a nuclear arms treaty with the U.S. The announcement by Putin comes after U.S. President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine's capital Kyiv on Monday.

Crude oil prices were volatile on Tuesday as traders weighed the impact of higher U.S. interest rates against optimism about increased demand from China. West Texas Intermediate for March delivery dipped $0.16 or 0.2 percent to $76.16 a barrel, while crude for April delivery eased $0.19 or 0.3 percent to $76.29 a barrel.