China Stock Market May Add To Its Winnings

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 25 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,520-point plateau and it may see additional support on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets offers little clarity as traders figure to wait and see what transpires over trade and tariff talks. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished slightly higher on Monday following gains from the energy companies, weakness from the properties and a mixed picture from the financial shares. For the day, the index rose 9.47 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 3,519.65 after trading between 3,513.25 and 3,532.12. The Shenzhen Composite Index perked 3.08 points or 0.15 percent to end at 2,120.01. Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was down 0.13 percent, while Bank of China and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) both climbed 1.05 percent, China Merchants Bank eased 0.15 percent, Jiangxi Copper added 0.51 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) slumped 1.24 percent, Yankuang Energy added 0.49 percent, PetroChina rallied 2.66 percent, Huaneng Power spiked 1.71 percent, China Shenhua Energy jumped 1.68 percent, Gemdale plunged 3.42 percent, Poly Developments declined 1.45 percent and China Vanke retreated 1.48 percent. The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as the major averages opened lower on Monday and gradually ticked up into positive territory, finishing with mild gains.

The Dow added 88.14 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 44,459.65, while the NASDAQ gained 54.80 points or 0.27 percent to close at 20,640.33 and the S&P 500 rose 8.81 points or 0.14 percent to end at 6,268.56.

The choppy trading on Wall Street followed President Donald Trump's threats to impose 30 percent tariffs on imports from the European Union and Mexico beginning Aug. 1. The EU responded that it will suspend the implementation of its trade countermeasures against the U.S. until early August to allow more time for a negotiated settlement.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of some key economic data in the coming days, including reports on consumer and producer prices, retail sales and industrial production.

Earnings season also picks up steam this week, with Citigroup (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Johnson & Jonson (JNJ) and Netflix (NFLX) among the big name companies due to report their quarterly results.

Crude oil prices slumped on Monday on continuing concerns over OPEC's decision to increase output again next month. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery dropped $1.24 or 1.85 percent to $65.79 per barrel. Closer to home, China will release a batch of data later today, including Q2 numbers for gross domestic product and June figures for industrial production, retail sales, fixed asset investment and unemployment. GDP is expected to rise 1.0 percent on quarter and 5.0 percent on year after adding 1.2 percent on quarter and 5.4 percent on year in the three months prior. Industrial production is tipped to add 5.6 percent on year, easing from 5.8 percent in May. Sales are called higher by an annual 5.2 percent, down from 6.4 percent in the previous month. FAI is tipped to rise 3.6 percent on year, down from 3.7 percent. The jobless rate is seen steady at 5.0 percent.