China Stock Market May Run Out Of Steam On Tuesday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting almost 75 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,290-point plateau although it may spin its wheels on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic amidst a lack of major catalysts. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. bourses saw mild upside, and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the properties and financials were offset by weakness from the oil companies. For the day, the index picked up 15.11 point or 0.46 percent to finish at 3,291.04 after trading between 3,282.47 and 3,322.13.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.42 percent, while China Construction Bank perked 0.16 percent, China Merchants Bank strengthened 1.31 percent, Bank of Communications collected 0.69 percent, China Life Insurance gained 0.60 percent, Jiangxi Copper climbed 1.06 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) spiked 2.58 percent, Yankuang Energy and China Shenhua Energy both eased 0.11 percent, PetroChina lost 0.63 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dropped 0.96 percent, Huaneng Power rose 0.35 percent, Gemdale rallied 2.01 percent, Poly Developments slumped 1.11 percent, China Vanke perked 0.13 percent, China Fortune Land surged 7.51 percent, Beijing Capital Development soared 5.12 percent and Bank of China was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up slightly positive after a volatile session that saw the major averages bounce back and forth across the unchanged line throughout the day. The Dow climbed 100.57 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 35,559.86, while the NASDAQ added 29.37 points or 0.21 percent to close at 14,346.02 and the S&P 500 rose 6.76 points or 0.15 percent to end at 4,588.99.

Traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves as they await the release of key economic data in the coming days, including the closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

In U.S. economic news, MNI Indicators released a report showing Chicago-area business activity contracted at a slightly slower rate in the month of July.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Monday and the oil futures contract posted the biggest monthly gain in over a year amid signs of tight supply and optimism over increased demand in the U.S. and China. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended higher by $1.22 or 1.5 percent at $81.80 a barrel. WTI crude futures gained 16 percent in July.