China Bourse May Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting more than 30 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,665-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter 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 added 18.37 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 3,665.92 after trading between 3,647.96 and 3,669.04. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 7.40 points or 0.33 percent to end at 2,259.12.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China climbed 1.04 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.71 percent, Agricultural Bank of China jumped 1.63 percent, China Merchants Bank fell 0.23 percent, Bank of Communications perked 0.13 percent, China Life Insurance added 0.49 percent, Jiangxi Copper was up 0.04 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) improved 1.07 percent, Yankuang Energy advanced 0.98 percent, PetroChina spiked 2.10 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) strengthened 1.41 percent, Huaneng Power shed 0.27 percent, Poly Developments dipped 0.12 percent, China Vanke eased 0.15 percent and China Shenhua Energy and Gemdale were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher and continued to accelerate as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 483.52 points or 1.10 percent to finish at 44,458.61, while the NASDAQ rallied 296.50 points or 1.39 percent to close at a record 21,681.90 and the S&P 500 climbed 72.31 points or 1.13 percent to end at 6,445.76, also a record.

The strength on Wall Street followed the release of the Labor Department's closely watched report on consumer price inflation for July, which was in line with expectations.

Despite the faster than expected annual core price growth, traders seem to believe the data increases the chances the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates next month.

Following the release of the report, CME Group's FedWatch Tool is indicating a 94.4 percent chance the Fed will cut rates by a quarter point in September.

Crude oil prices slumped on Tuesday ahead of an upcoming meeting between the U.S. and Russian presidents on Friday in Alaska. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $0.88 or 1.38 percent at $63.08 per barrel.