China Bourse May Extend Monday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had spiked more than 110 points or 3.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite now sits just above the 3,470-point plateau and it may open higher again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, mostly on inertia following the U.S. election. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The SCI finished modestly higher as weakness from the financials and properties limited the upside of the broader market.

For the day, the index gained 17.77 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 3,470.07 after trading between 3,416.73 and 3,471.12. The Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 38.89 points or 1.86 percent to end at 2,133.57.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China skidded 1.15 percent, while Bank of China dropped 1.03 percent, China Construction Bank slumped 1.25 percent, China Merchants Bank retreated 1.21 percent, Agricultural Bank of China declined 1.47 percent, China Life Insurance plunged 3.19 percent, Jiangxi Copper shed 0.47 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) weakened 1.29 percent, Yankuang Energy stumbled 1.64 percent, PetroChina tanked 1.94 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) sank 1.58 percent, Huaneng Power added 0.41 percent, China Shenhua Energy surrendered 2.02 percent, Poly Developments and Gemdale both plummeted 2.42 percent and China Vanke was down 2.21 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened higher on Monday and spent most of the day hugging line before finishing with mild gains that were all fresh record closing highs.

The Dow jumped 304.14 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 44,294.13, while the NASDAQ rose 11.99 points or 0.06 percent to close at 19,298.76 and the S&P 500 added 5.81 points or 0.10 percent to end at 6,001.35.

Investors remained optimistic that Donald Trump's policies such as tax reductions and deregulation will help boost corporate earnings.

Oil futures closed sharply lower on Monday, weighed down by a stronger dollar and concerns about demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended down $2.34 or 3.6 percent at $68.04 a barrel.