China Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Wednesday

China

The China stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 120 points or 3.5 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite now sits just above the 3,285-point plateau although the rally may stall on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to rising treasury yields. The European and U.S. markets were slightly lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The SCI finished modestly higher again on Tuesday following gains from the energy companies, while the financial shares and property stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index gained 17.76 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 3,285.87 after trading between 3,255.14 and 3,294.96. The Shenzhen Composite Index improved 16.68 points or 0.86 percent to end at 1,953.64.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.32 percent, while Bank of China dipped 0.20 percent, China Construction Bank eased 0.12 percent, China Merchants Bank advanced 0.82 percent, Agricultural Bank of China collected 0.41 percent, China Life Insurance was down 0.14 percent, Jiangxi Copper perked 0.09 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) improved 0.91 percent, Yankuang Energy rose 0.31 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) gained 0.76 percent, Huaneng Power soared 4.42 percent, China Shenhua Energy added 0.29 percent, Gemdale rallied 2.00 percent, Poly Developments jumped 1.86 percent, China Vanke increased 0.54 percent and PetroChina was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened slightly lower on Tuesday and hugged the line throughout the day, with the NASDAQ managing to peek above the line by the close.

The Dow shed 6.71 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 42,924.89, while the NASDAQ rose 33.12 points or 0.18 percent to end at 18,573.13 and the S&P 500 slipped 2.78 points or 0.05 percent to close at 5,851.20.

The early weakness on Wall Street reflected renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates after a recent surge by U.S. treasury yields.

After the Fed slashed interest rates by 50 basis points last month, CME Groups FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 89.6 percent chance of just a 25-basis point rate cut next month.

The subsequent recovery by the markets came even though the yield on the benchmark ten-year note crept up to a nearly three-month closing high, as traders are optimistic about the economic outlook.

Oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday amid hopes that Chinas latest stimulus move will push up demand, although the upside was limited by a possible a ceasefire deal in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude futures for November added $1.53 or 2.1 percent at $72.09 a barrel.