China Shares Likely To Open In The Green On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Tuesday ended the four-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than 70 points or 2.4 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 2,930-point plateau and it's expected to find continued strength on Wednesday,

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on continued optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and resource stocks, while the properties were soft.

For the day, the index rose 1.59 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 2,932.39 after trading between 2,914.13 and 2,940.50. The Shenzhen Composite Index perked 2.10 points or 0.12 percent to end at 1,807.54.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.42 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.50 percent, China Construction Bank added 0.31 percent, China Merchants Bank perked 0.04 percent, Bank of Communications dipped 0.17 percent, China Life Insurance rose 0.29 percent, Jiangxi Copper fell 0.29 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) gathered 0.20 percent, Yankuang Energy eased 0.05 percent, PetroChina was up 0.15 percent, Huaneng Power lost 0.66 percent, China Shenhua Energy increased 0.16 percent, Gemdale tumbled 1.75 percent, Poly Developments retreated 1.46 percent, China Vanke declined 1.52 percent and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) and Haitong Securities were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and remained in the green throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 251.90 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 37,557.92, while the NASDAQ advanced 98.03 points or 0.66 percent to close at 15,003.22 and the S&P 500 added 27.81 points or 0.59 percent to end at 4,768.37.

Optimism about the outlook for interest rates continued to contribute to strength on Wall Street following the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement last week.

Adding to the positive sentiment, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said interest rate cuts are likely to be appropriate next year because of an improvement in inflation.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported a substantial increase in new residential construction in the U.S. in November. Also, building permits slumped more than expected.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, extending gains on supply concerns after several companies rerouting their vessels due to the attacks by Houthi militants in the Red Sea. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January rose $0.97 or 1.3 percent at $73.44 a barrel.