Soft Start Seen For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market turned lower again on Tuesday, one day after ending the two-day slide in which it had given up almost 35 points or 1.1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index new sits just above the 3,275-point plateau and it's likely to open in the red again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains soft on concerns over an economic slowdown and the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished slightly lower on Tuesday as losses from the financials, properties and resource stocks were mitigated by support from the oil and energy companies.

For the day, the index eased 1.57 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 3,276.22 after trading between 3,262.63 and 3,284.60. The Shenzhen Composite Index dipped 0.93 points or 0.04 percent to end at 2,227.38. Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dipped 0.23 percent, while Bank of China fell 0.33 percent, China Construction Bank lost 0.37 percent, China Merchants Bank retreated 1.55 percent, Bank of Communications shed 0.44 percent, China Life Insurance slid 0.41 percent, Jiangxi Copper dropped 0.82 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) was down 0.43 percent, Yankuang Energy spiked 2.54 percent, PetroChina climbed 1.34 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) added 0.48 percent, Huaneng Power soared 3.90 percent, China Shenhua Energy strengthened 1.36 percent, Gemdale gained 0.51 percent, Poly Developments declined 1.44 percent, China Vanke skidded 1.11 percent and China Fortune Land slumped 1.02 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild consolidation again on Wednesday as the major averages shook off early support and finished slightly lower.

The Dow dropped 154.02 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 32,909.59, while the NASDAQ eased 0.27 points or 0.00 percent to close at 12,381.30 and the S&P 500 dipped 9.26 points or 0.22 percent to end at 4,128.73.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street came as traders were cautious ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the central bank's annual Jackson Hole economic symposium later this week, which may provide clues about the bank's outlook for the economy and interest rates.

In economic news, Markit Economics said its manufacturing PMI slowed in August, while the services and composite PMIs contracted at an accelerated rate. Also, the Commerce Department said new home sales slumped in July to their lowest reading since January 2016.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday with traders weighing the prospects of OPEC and allies cutting output to support prices in the event of Iranian crude entering the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September jumped $3.38 or 3.7 percent at $93.74 a barrel.