Higher Open Predicted For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Tuesday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 40 points or 1.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,055-point plateau although it may bounce higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are tipped to at least open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Tuesday as losses from the financial shares and resource stocks were mitigated by support from the property sector.

For the day, the index shed 12.52 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 3,055.94 after trading between 3,044.86 and 3,075.13. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 14.38 points or 0.82 percent to end at 1,770.57.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China tanked 3.17 percent, while Agricultural Bank of China stumbled 2.36 percent, China Construction Bank surrendered 2.83 percent, China Merchants Bank jumped 1.49 percent, Bank of Communications tumbled 1.89 percent, China Life Insurance spiked 1.94 percent, Jiangxi Copper retreated 2.61 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) plunged 3.78 percent, Yankuang Energy plummeted 5.19 percent, PetroChina declined 3.56 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dropped 3.62 percent, Huaneng Power sank 3.84 percent, China Shenhua Energy slumped 3.93 percent, Gemdale surged 5.47 percent, Poly Developments soared 5.17 percent and China Vanke rallied 5.71 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened flat on Tuesday but quickly moved solidly to the upside and finished comfortably in the green.

The Dow soared 235.83 points or 0.61 percent to finish at 39,005.49, while the NASDAQ surged 246.36 points or 1.54 percent to end at 16,265.64 and the S&P 500 rallied 57.33 points or 1.12 percent to close at 5,175.27.

The strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to the Labor Department's highly anticipated report on consumer price inflation in February.

While core price growth slowed slightly less than expected, the slowdown still seems to have added to optimism about the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates in June.

The Labor Department is scheduled to release a separate report on Thursday on producer price inflation for February.

Oil futures settled lower again on Tuesday on the U.S. inflation data and persisting worries about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April sank $0.37 at $77.56 a barrel.