China Shares May Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering more than 40 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite now sits just above the 3,320-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive following a sharp drop in the price of oil. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The SCI finished modestly higher as gains from the properties and resource stocks were offset by weakness from the financials and oil companies.

For the day, the index added 22.50 points or 0.68 percent to finish at the daily high of 3,322.20 after trading as low as 3,279.72. The Shenzhen Composite Index improved 27.93 points or 1.41 percent to end at 2,002.58.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China sank 0.82 percent, while Bank of China lost 0.61 percent, China Construction Bank slumped 1.23 percent, China Merchants Bank stumbled 1.48 percent, Agricultural Bank of China declined 1.24 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 1.46 percent, Jiangxi Copper strengthened 1.53 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) improved 1.06 percent, Yankuang Energy climbed 1.01 percent, PetroChina fell 0.24 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dipped 0.16 percent, Huaneng Power accelerated 2.75 percent, China Shenhua Energy rose 0.42 percent, Gemdale surged 4.24 percent, Poly Developments jumped 1.87 percent and China Vanke spiked 2.74 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened modestly higher on Monday and stayed that way throughout the trading day.

The Dow rallied 273.17 points or 0.65 percent to finish at 42,387.57, while the NASDAQ gained 48.58 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 18,567.19 and the S&P 500 added 15.40 points or 0.27 percent to end at 5,823.52.

The strength on Wall Street came amid a steep drop by the price of oil. Oil prices fell sharply on Monday as concerns about supply disruptions faded after Israel avoided hitting Iranian oil facilities over the weekend. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December plunged $4.40 or 6.1 percent at $67.38 a barrel.

Meanwhile, traders were also looking ahead to the release of key U.S. economic data later in the week. The monthly jobs report as well as a report on personal income and spending that includes the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation readings are likely to be in the spotlight.

The data could impact the outlook for the economy as well as expectations regarding how quickly the Fed will lower interest rates.