China Stock Market May Find Traction On Wednesday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, tumbling more than 65 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 2,915-point plateau although it's due for support on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat with a touch of downside ahead of earnings news and economic data later this week. The European and U.S. markets were slightly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The SCI finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the property stocks and resource and energy companies, while the financials offered support.

For the day, the index stumbled 48.85 points or 1.65 percent to finish at the daily low of 2,915.37 after peaking at 2,960.50. The Shenzhen Composite Index plummeted 41.54 points or 2.58 percent to end at 1,566.95.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China soared 2.91 percent, Bank of China spiked 2.37 percent, China Construction Bank rallied 2.02 percent, Bank of Communications jumped 1.88 percent, China Life Insurance tumbled 1.93 percent, Jiangxi Copper plunged 3.80 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) plummeted 5.53 percent, Yankuang Energy surrendered 2.77 percent, PetroChina retreated 1.25 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) perked 0.16 percent, Huaneng Power tanked 2.72 percent, China Shenhua Energy stumbled 1.61 percent, Gemdale declined 2.22 percent, Poly Developments skidded 1.42 percent, China Vanke slumped 1.86 percent and China Merchants Bank was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up soft as the major averages opened higher on Tuesday and spent almost the entire session in the green before a late slump dropped them barely into negative territory.

The Dow shed 57.35 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 40,358.09, while the NASDAQ dipped 10.22 points or 0.06 percent to close at 17.997.35 and the S&P 500 fell 8.70 points or 0.16 percent to end at 5,555.71.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the outlook for the markets following recent volatility.

Traders may also have been reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key earnings and economic news in the coming days.

Later in the week, focus is likely to shift to a report on personal income and spending in June, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.

Oil prices fell to near seven-week lows on Tuesday as investors brace for a likely drop in demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $1.44 or 1.83 percent at $76.96 a barrel, the lowest settlement since June 7.