Lower Open Expected For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, advancing more than 60 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,490-point plateau although it figures to run out of steam on Wednesday.

The global forecast is sharply negative on soaring concerns about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower on Tuesday and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday as gains from the financials and properties were capped by weakness from the resource stocks.

For the day, the index gained 26.53 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 3,488.83 after trading between 3,465.72 and 3,491.13. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 8.16 points or 0.35 percent to end at 2,326.25.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.43 percent, while Bank of China added 0.65 percent, China Construction Bank climbed 1.16 percent, China Merchants Bank advanced 0.88 percent, Bank of Communications strengthened 1.67 percent, China Life Insurance jumped 1.77 percent, Jiangxi Copper retreated 1.35 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) tumbled 1.85 percent, Yankuang Energy soared 3.44 percent, PetroChina lost 0.69 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dipped 0.23 percent, Huaneng Power sank 0.80 percent, China Shenhua Energy accelerated 3.21 percent, Gemdale rallied 3.46 percent, Poly Developments surged 3.35 percent, China Vanke improved 0.94 percent, Beijing Capital Development perked 0.18 percent and China Minsheng Bank was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and saw the losses accelerate as the day progressed before closing firmly in the red.

The Dow plummeted 597.65 points or 1.76 percent to finish at 33,294.95, while the NASDAQ tumbled 218.94 points or 1.59 percent to close at 13,532.46 and the S&P 500 dropped 67.68 points or 1.55 percent to end at 4,306.26.

The weakness on Wall Street came as selling continued unabated amid rising worries about the likely economic impact of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the stringent sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and several Western countries.

According to reports, Russian rockets have hit the center of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, and a long line of tanks was heading toward Kyiv.

In U.S. economic news, construction spending posted a bigger gain than expected in January, while the ISM's manufacturing PMI for February also came in above forecasts.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday as an escalation in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and a raft of sanctions imposed on Russia raised concerns about global oil supplies. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $7.69 or 8 percent at $103.41 a barrel, the highest settlement since July 2014.