Soft Start Seen For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, collecting more than 55 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,560-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets offers little clarity as investors wait and see what happens with tariff deadlines. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index added 25.31 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 3,559.79 after trading between 3,542.57 and 3,560.63. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 22.57 points or 1.05 percent to end at 2,176.28.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped 0.90 percent, while Bank of China sank 0.70 percent, Agricultural Bank of China shed 0.48 percent, China Merchants Bank fell 0.44 percent, Bank of Communications lost 0.62 percent, China Life Insurance dipped 0.02 percent, Jiangxi Copper rallied 3.52 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) surged 5.39 percent, Yankuang Energy spiked 3.32 percent, PetroChina rose 0.22 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) jumped 1.72 percent, Huaneng Power soared 3.98 percent, China Shenhua Energy advanced 0.99 percent, Gemdale added 0.26 percent, Poly Developments gained 0.37 percent and China Vanke improved 0.46 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened solidly higher on Monday but ebbed throughout the session before ending mixed and little changed.

The Dow sank 19.12 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 44,323.07, while the NASDAQ gained 78.52 points or 0.38 percent to close at a fresh record 20,974.17 and the S&P 500 rose 8.81 points or 0.14 percent to end at 6,305.60 - also a record.

The early strength on Wall Street reflected optimism about potential trade deals, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying he is confident the U.S. will reach an agreement with the European Union.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as traders looked ahead to the release of earnings news from several big-name companies this week, including Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), Tesla (TSLA) and Intel (INTC).

On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Conference Board showed its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators fell by slightly more than expected in the month of June.

Crude oil prices slipped on Monday as investors seem concerned that heavy tariffs could block international trade and reduce demand for oil and energy. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery dipped $0.11 to $69.17 per barrel.