China Stock Market May Reclaim 3,900-Point Level

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Monday snapped the two-day slide in which it had dropped more than 110 points or 2.9 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,835-point plateau and it's expected to open in the green again on Tuesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support expected from the technology and oil sectors. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead. The SCI finished barely lower on Monday, limited by weakness from the financial shares, property stocks and resource companies. For the day, the index perked 1.87 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 3,836.77 after trading between 3,816.58 and 3,854.33. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 20.66 points or 0.87 percent to end at 2,390.98. Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was down 0.61 percent, while Bank of China tumbled 1.91 percent, Agricultural Bank of China weakened 0.37 percent, China Merchants Bank lost 0.86 percent, Bank of Communications shed 0.79 percent, China Life Insurance slumped 0.83 percent, Jiangxi Copper added 0.64 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) slipped 0.29 percent, Yankuang Energy sank 0.72 percent, PetroChina surrendered 2.49 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) tanked 2.18 percent, Huaneng Power dropped 0.91 percent, China Shenhua Energy stumbled 2.07 percent, Gemdale dipped 0.27 percent, Poly Developments climbed 1.01 percent and China Vanke fell 0.33 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is strong as the major averages opened mixed on Monday but quickly turned higher and accelerated throughout the day, ending near session highs.

The Dow advanced 202.86 points or 0.44 percent to finish at 26,448.27, while the NASDAQ surged 598.92 points or 2.69 percent to end at 22,872.01 and the S&P 500 climbed 102.13 points r 1.55 percent to close at 6,705.12.

The rally on Wall Street came as traders continued to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels after concerns about valuations and the outlook for interest rates weighed on the markets for much of last week.

Positive sentiment may also have been generated amid signs of progress toward an agreement to end the protracted war between Russia and Ukraine.

Semiconductor stocks led the way higher, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index soaring by 4.4 percent. Computer hardware and networking stocks are also seeing substantial strength, contributing to the surge by the tech-heavy NASDAQ.

Crude oil prices surged on Monday, supported by a positive economic outlook and more demand growth. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was up $0.73 or 1.26 percent at $58.79 per barrel.