China Stock Market Expected To Open Under Pressure

(RTTNews) - The China stock market moved lower again on Wednesday, one session after ending the four-day losing streak in which it had tumbled almost 150 points or 4.4 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,120-point plateau and it's likely to see continued consolidation on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on renewed recession fears following another big rate hike from the FOMC. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The SCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials, support from the properties and a mixed picture from the energy companies.

For the day, the index dipped 5.23 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 3,117.18 after trading between 3,091.30 and 3,129.82. The Shenzhen Composite Index fell 7.34 points or 0.37 percent to end at 2,004.31.

Among the actives, China Construction Bank collected 0.36 percent, while China Merchants Bank fell 0.38 percent, Bank of Communications shed 0.43 percent, China Life Insurance eased 0.07 percent, Jiangxi Copper climbed 1.06 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) improved 1.12 percent, Yankuang Energy strengthened 1.61 percent, PetroChina gathered 1.36 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) advanced 0.71 percent, Huaneng Power rallied 2.09 percent, China Shenhua Energy lost 0.54 percent, Gemdale soared 2.66 percent, Poly Developments perked 1.08 percent, China Fortune Land spiked 2.60 percent, Beijing Capital Development surged 2.92 percent and China Vanke, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up negative as the major averages were steady throughout Wednesday session until the FOMC's rate decision sent them tumbling, closing near daily lows.

The Dow plummeted 522.45 points or 1.70 percent to finish at 30,183.78, while the NASDAQ tumbled 204.86 points or 1.79 percent to close at 11,220.19 and the S&P sank 66.00 points or 1.71 percent to end at 3,789.93.

The late-day volatility came after the Fed raised interest rates by another three-quarters of a percentage point and signaled further aggressive rate hikes for the remainder of the year.

Citing its dual goals of maximum employment and inflation at a rate of 2 percent over the longer run, the Fed decided to raise its target range for the federal funds rate by 75 basis points to 3 to 3.25 percent.

The move marks the third straight 75 basis point rate hike by the Fed and lifts rates to their highest level since early 2008. With inflation remaining elevated, the Fed also said it expects that ongoing interest rate increases will be appropriate.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Wednesday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand after the Federal Reserve's announcement of a sharp hike in interest rates raised fears about a recession. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November ended lower by $1.00 or 1.2 percent at $82.94 a barrel.