China Stock Market May Be Stuck In Neutral

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than 30 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,460-point plateau although it may spin its wheels on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with support from the oil companies offsetting weakness among the technology shares. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday as gains from the financial shares and resource stocks were capped by weakness from the property sector.

For the day, the index rose 13.32 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 3,457.75 after trading between 3,441.04 and 3,459.59. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 4.03 points or 0.19 percent to end at 2,078.88.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China increased 0.92 percent, while Bank of China was up 0.53 percent, Agricultural Bank of China expanded 1.36 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 1.09 percent, Bank of Communications improved 1.25 percent, China Life Insurance perked 0.29 percent, Jiangxi Copper strengthened 1.54 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) gained 0.57 percent, Yankuang Energy dipped 0.25 percent, PetroChina climbed 1.05 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) rose 0.35 percent, Huaneng Power added 0.42 percent, China Shenhua Energy advanced 0.99 percent, Gemdale retreated 1.58 percent, Poly Developments dropped 0.99 percent and China Vanke skidded 1.09 percent.

The lead from Wall Street provides little clarity as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and finished in the same fashion.

The Dow rallied 400.17 points or 0.91 percent to finish at 44,494.94, while the NASDAQ tumbled 166.85 points or 0.82 percent to end at 20,202.89 and the S&P 500 slipped 6.94 points or 0.11 percent to close at 6,198.01.

The mixed performance on Wall Street came following the strong performance seen in recent sessions, which saw the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 reach new record highs.

Traders also kept an eye on developments in Washington, D.C., where the Senate narrowly voted to approve President Donald Trump's massive tax cuts and spending bill.

On the U.S. economic front, the Institute for Supply Management noted a modest increase by its reading on U.S. manufacturing activity in June. Also, the Labor Department saw an unexpected increase by job openings in the U.S. in May.

Crude oil rose modestly on Tuesday as attention shifts to the OPEC cartel's supposed plans to increase output even as the Middle East remains uneventful. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery traded at $65.40 per barrel, up $0.29 or 0.45 percent.