No Help Yet For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, retreating almost 15 points or 0.5 percent in that span. The SCI now sits just above the 3,365-point plateau although it's looking at another soft start again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on recession fears and concerns over the health of the world economy. The European and U.S. markets finished sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open under pressure as well.

The SCI finished slightly higher on Monday as gains from the resource stocks were offset by weakness from the financial shares and property stocks. For the day, the index dipped 6.38 points or 0.19 percent to finish at 3,366.16 after trading between 3,347.19 and 3,375.80. The Shenzhen Composite Index perked 0.30 points or 0.01 percent to end at 2,080.57. Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China gave up 0.88 percent, while China Construction Bank slumped 0.59 percent, China Merchants Bank skidded 1.15 percent, Agricultural Bank of China dropped 0.78 percent, Jiangxi Copper and Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) both improved 0.78 percent, Yankuang Energy rallied 1.44 percent, PetroChina fell 0.39 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) sank 0.70 percent, Huaneng Power lost 0.60 percent, China Shenhua Energy added 0.59 percent, Gemdale tanked 2.07 percent, Poly Developments retreated 1.25 percent and China Vanke shed 0.66 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests continued consolidation as the major averages opened lower on Monday and continued to weaken as the day progressed.

The Dow plummeted 890.01 points or 2.08 percent to finish at 41,911.71, while the NASDAQ crashed 727.90 points or 4.00 percent to close at 17,468.32 and the S&P 500 stumbled 155.64 points or 2.70 percent to end at 5,614.56.

The weakness on Wall Street came amidst rising concerns about the outlook for economic growth and corporate earnings after U.S. President Donald Trump declined to rule out the possibility of a recession following his tariff actions on Mexico, Canada and China.

With a slew of crucial economic data due later in the week, the mood in the market is extremely cautious. On tap are reports on consumer and producer price inflation, as well as readings on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.

Oil prices fell to six-month lows on Monday as worries about global economic growth and fears of a U.S. recession fueled demand concerns. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures settled lower by $1.01 or 1.5 percent at $66.03 a barrel, the lowest settlement since September 10, 2024.