Higher Open Called For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Tuesday ended the two-day slide in which it had slipped almost 50 points or 0.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,250-point plateau and it's tipped to extend its gains on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on increasing optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were solidly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the oil, energy and property companies.

For the day, the index added 9.40 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 3,248.09 after trading between 3,233.83 and 3,250.03. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 7.71 points or 0.36 percent to end at 2,152.89.

Among the actives, Bank of China shed 0.31 percent, while China Merchants Bank perked 0.16 percent, Bank of Communications rose 0.21 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.63 percent, Jiangxi Copper added 0.74 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) strengthened 1.51 percent, Yankuang Energy improved 0.82 percent, PetroChina gained 0.39 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) was up 0.22 percent, Huaneng Power surged 3.90 percent, China Shenhua Energy increased 0.11 percent, Gemdale soared 3.35 percent, Poly Developments jumped 1.73 percent, China Vanke rallied 1.62 percent, China Fortune Land advanced 0.74 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages shook off flat morning trade on Tuesday, rallying in the afternoon.

The Dow jumped265.67 points or 0.78 percent to finish at 34,156.69, while the NASDAQ surged 226.34 points or 1.90 percent to end at 12,113.79 and the S&P 500 advanced 52.92 points or 1.29 percent to close at 4,164.00.

The late rally on Wall Street came in reaction to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks at the Economic Club of Washington. In a Q&A session, Powell said he expects 2023 to be a year of "significant declines in inflation."

Powell said inflation is beginning to ease, though he expects it to be a long process and cautioned that interest rates could rise more than markets expect if the economic data doesn't cooperate.

Oil prices advanced Tuesday on expectations of higher energy demand from China, and on supply concerns following a massive earthquake in Turkey on Monday. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $3.02 or 4.1 percent at $77.14 a barrel, the highest close since January 31.