Bargain Hunting May Boost China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, shedding almost 250 points or 6.2 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,810-point plateau although it's due for support on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat as tensions in the Middle East take a slight breather. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead. The SCI finished sharply lower on Monday with losses cross the board, especially among the finance, property and resource sectors. For the day, the index tumbled 143.77 points or 3.63 percent to finish at 3,813.28 after trading between 3,794.68 and 3,906.62. The Shenzhen Composite Index plunged 108.36 points or 4.19 percent to end at 2,480.75. Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China contracted 3.33 percent, while Bank of China dropped 2.18 percent, Agricultural Bank of China stumbled 4.29 percent, China Merchants Bank sank 2.69 percent, Bank of Communications retreated 3.47 percent, China Life Insurance plunged 5.51 percent, Jiangxi Copper cratered 5.67 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) tumbled 4.16 percent, Yankuang Energy shed 1.42 percent, PetroChina gained 0.82 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) fell 0.66 percent, Huaneng Power lost 2.65 percent, China Shenhua Energy eased 0.10 percent, Gemdale crashed 6.78 percent, Poly Developments declined 3.90 percent and China Vanke plummeted 7.37 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday and remained firmly in the green throughout the trading day.

The Dow surged 631.00 points or 1.38 percent to finish at 46,208.47, while the NASDAQ spiked 299.15 points or 1.38 percent to close at 21,946.76 and the S&P 500 rallied 74.52 points or 1.15 percent to end at 6,581.00.

The early rally on Wall Street came reaction to President Donald Trump backing down from his threats to "obliterate" Iran's power plants unless they fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

However, buying interest waned somewhat as the day progressed, as Iran's state-run media said the country's foreign ministry has denied negotiating with the U.S.

Crude oil prices plummeted on Monday after Trump's announcement that he ordered the U.S. forces to pause any planned attacks against Iran's power plants and energy infrastructure. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was down $10.21 or 10.39 percent at $88.02 per barrel.