(RTTNews) – The China stock market has tracked higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 50 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,300-point plateau and it may see additional support to open on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is a study in contrasts, with gains among oil stocks likely offset by weakness among the technology shares. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the properties and mixed performances from the financials and resource stocks.
For the day, the index advanced 23.54 points or 0.72 percent to finish at 3,296.40 after trading between 3,276.42 and 3,299.73. The Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 24.27 points or 1.14 percent to end at 2,149.02.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dipped 0.22 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.59 percent, China Construction Bank perked 0.17 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.29 percent, Bank of Communications slid 0.20 percent, China Life Insurance climbed 1.08 percent, Jiangxi Copper lost 0.51 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) fell 0.18 percent, Yankuang Energy eased 0.17 percent, PetroChina strengthened 1.35 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) skidded 1.07 percent, Huaneng Power tanked 2.10 percent, China Shenhua Energy dropped 0.99 percent, Gemdale rallied 2.62 percent, Poly Developments surged 3.47 percent, China Vanke improved 1.12 percent and Beijing Capital Development jumped 1.97 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is incongruous as the Dow and S&P opened higher and finished the same way, while the NASDAQ opened in the red and remained there throughout the session.
The Dow surged 327.00 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 33,601.15, while the NASDAQ dropped 32.45 points or 0.27 percent to end at 12,189.45 and the S&P 500 added 15.20 points or 0.37 percent to close at 4,124.51.
The strength on Wall Street rose the back of the energy sector as crude oil prices surged, while technology stocks ebbed on fears over the outlook for interest rates.
Oil prices rose sharply on Monday, buoyed by the decision of OPEC+ oil producers to cut output by around 1.16 million barrels per day. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $4.75 or 6.3 percent at $80.42 a barrel.
In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said manufacturing activity in the U.S. contracted at a slightly faster rate in March. Also, the Commerce Department unexpectedly showed a slight decrease in U.S. construction spending in February.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
