Additional Support Called For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, collecting more than 35 points or 1.2 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 2,975-point plateau and it may tick higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on solid earnings news and interest rate optimism. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SCI finished barely higher on Tuesday following gains from the properties and mixed performances from the financial and resource sectors.

For the day, the index perked 2.29 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 2,976.30 after trading between 2,959.67 and 2,977.36. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 7.80 points or 0.49 percent to end at 1,611.80.

Among the actives, Bank of China collected 0.62 percent, while China Construction Bank shed 0.40 percent, China Merchants Bank perked 0.03 percent, Bank of Communications fell 0.27 percent, China Life Insurance dropped 0.86 percent, Jiangxi Copper rose 0.17 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) tumbled 1.74 percent, PetroChina and Yankuang Energy both added 0.38 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) rallied 2.20 percent, Huaneng Power dipped 0.23 percent, China Shenhua Energy was up 0.05 percent, Gemdale lost 0.31 percent, Poly Developments climbed 1.11 percent, China Vanke jumped 1.32 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was unchanged.

The Dow surged 742.76 points or 1.85 percent to finish at a record 40,945.48, while the NASDAQ added 36.77 points or 0.20 percent to close at 18,509.34 and the S&P 500 rose 35.98 points or 0.64 percent to end at 5,667.20 - also a record.

The strength on Wall Street reflected positive earnings news from the likes of UnitedHealth (UNH), Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS).

Traders also reacted positively to the latest U.S. economic news, including a Commerce Department report showing U.S. retail sales came in unchanged in June. The Labor Department also released a report showing import prices in the U.S. were unexpectedly flat last month while export prices slid 0.5 percent.

Gold stocks also saw significant strength amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 3.4 percent. The index reached a more than two-year closing high.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday, extending losses to a third straight session amid concerns about the outlook for demand and a slightly stronger dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August sank $1.15 or 1.4 percent at $80.76 a barrel.