The China stock market has tracked higher in four straight sessions, advancing more than 40 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite now sits just beneath the 2,750-point plateau and it may extend its gains again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside, largely on positive momentum amid a lack of catalysts. The European and U.S. markets were modestly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the financial shares and mixed performances from the resource and property sectors.
For the day, the index improved 12.10 points or 0.44 percent to finish at 2,748.92 after trading between 2,731.36 and 2,760.48. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 2.16 points or 0.14 percent to end at 1,496.82.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.88 percent, while Bank of China climbed 1.08 percent, China Construction Bank strengthened 1.52 percent, China Merchants Bank improved 1.45 percent, Bank of Communications increased 1.37 percent, China Life Insurance rallied 1.54 percent, Jiangxi Copper perked 0.15 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) dropped 0.85 percent, Yankuang Energy surged 4.17 percent, PetroChina gathered 1.26 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) spiked 1.57 percent, Huaneng Power accelerated 2.94 percent, China Shenhua Energy gained 1.56 percent, Gemdale tumbled 1.72 percent, Poly Developments was up 0.37 percent and China Vanke added 0.58 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened slightly higher on Monday and largely remained that way throughout the session, finishing with mild gains.
The Dow added 61.29 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 42,124.65, while the NASDAQ rose 25.95 points or 0.14 percent to close at 17,974.27 and the S&P 500 gained 16.02 points or 0.28 percent to end at 5,718.57.
The modest strength on Wall Street partly reflects optimism about the outlook for the economy following the Federal Reserves interest rate cut last week.
The Fed is expected to continue lowering rates in the coming months amid signs of slowing inflation even as the economy remains relatively strong.
Overall trading activity remains somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of some key economic data later this week.
Crude oil prices were unable to hold early gains, slumping midday on demand concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery fell $0.47 or 0.66 percent to $70.53 per barrel.