China Shares Ridiculously Overdue For Consolidation

(RTTNews) - Ahead of the long break for National Day, the China stock market had tracked higher in nine straight sessions, surging more than 630 points or 23.3 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite now sits just above the 3,335-point plateau although it's likely to see profit taking on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft, ahead of key economic and earnings data later this week. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were solidly lower and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead. The SCI finished with huge gains on Sept. 30 with sharp gains across the board, especially among the insurance, resource and property sectors. For the day, the index skyrocketed 248.97 points or 8.06 percent to finish at 3,336.50 after trading between 3,153.70 and 3,358.59. The Shenzhen Composite Index rallied 189.91 points or 10.93 percent to end at 1,927.48. Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China added 2.83 percent, while China Construction Bank collected 3.66 percent, China Merchants Bank jumped 5.56 percent, Agricultural Bank of China rose 2.13 percent, Jiangxi Copper rallied 7.96 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) surged 9.47 percent, Yankuang Energy soared 8.09 percent, PetroChina strengthened 7.64 percent, Huaneng Power spiked 6.49 percent, China Shenhua Energy accelerated 4.28 percent and China Life Insurance, Gemdale, Poly Developments and China Vanke all skyrocketed by the 10 percent daily limit.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Monday and only moved lower as the day progressed, ending near session lows.

The Dow tumbled 398.51 points or 0.94 percent to finish at 41,954.24, while the NASDAQ plunged 213.95 points or 1.18 percent to close at 17,923.90 and the S&P 500 sank 55.13 points or 0.96 percent to end at 5,695.94.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders reassessed their expectations for the outlook on interest rates. After Friday's upbeat jobs data, traders now expect only a quarter-point cut in interest rates at the Federal Reserve's next policy announcement on Nov. 7.

The mood is cautious as investors await readings on consumer price and producer price inflation later in the week, as well as earnings announcements from several top banks.

On the geopolitical front, Israeli defense forces intensified air strikes targeting Gaza and the Lebanese capital of Beirut simultaneously on the first anniversary of Hamas' cross-border attack in Israel, which triggered the Middle East war.

Oil prices rose sharply on Monday amid the rising possibility of disruptions in supply in the Persian Gulf due to escalating tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November jumped $2.76 or 3.71 percent at $77.14 a barrel, the highest close in nearly eight weeks.