Forex News

The China stock market has risen in four straight sessions, collecting more than 65 points or 2.1 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just shy of the 3,270-point plateau although the rally may stall on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation ahead of rate decisions this week from central banks in England and the United States. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses were firmly in the red and the Asian markets figure to split the difference. Returning from the long Lunar New Year break, the SCI finished slightly higher following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and resource companies. For the day, the index perked 4.50 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 3,269.32 after trading between 3,266.76 and 3,310.49. Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dipped 0.23 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.31 percent, China Merchants Bank rallied 2.39 percent, Bank of Communications perked 0.21 percent, China Life Insurance plunged 3.60 percent, Jiangxi Copper skidded 1.02 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) climbed 1.15 percent, Yankuang Energy plummeted 5.83 percent, PetroChina added 0.39 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) shed 0.44 percent, Huaneng Power tumbled 2.05 percent, China Shenhua Energy tanked 2.26 percent, Gemdale slumped 2.81 percent, Poly Developments retreated 1.77 percent, China Vanke declined 2.64 percent, China Fortune Land surged 4.30 percent, Beijing Capital Development soared 3.55 percent and China Construction Bank was unchanged.

Retail sales in Japan were up a seasonally adjusted 1.4 percent on month in December, Statistics Korea said on Tuesday.

Private sector credit in Australia was up 0.3 percent on month in December, the Reserve Bank of Australia said on Tuesday - shy of expectations for 0.5 percent, which would have been unchanged.

The value of retail sales in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 3.9 percent on month in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday - coming in at A$34.472 billion.

The Taiwan stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, collecting more than 750 points or 5.2 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now rests just beneath the 15,500-point plateau although investors are likely to cash in on Tuesday.

The Singapore stock market on Monday saw the end of the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 120 points or 3.5 percent. The Straits Times Index now rests just beneath the 3,380-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Tuesday.