The China stock market headed south again on Monday, one session after snapping the two-day slide in which it had fallen almost 10 points or 0.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,415-point plateau and it may extend its losses on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian is mixed to lower on geopolitical concerns and fears of a no deal Brexit. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Monday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and resource companies.
For the day, the index skidded 27.98 points or 0.81 percent to finish at 3,416.60 after trading between 3,414.31 and 3,449.58. The Shenzhen Composite Index fell 6.92 points or 0.30 percent to end at 2,294.91.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China tanked 2.26 percent, Bank of China dropped 0.91 percent, China Construction Bank plunged 2.38 percent, China Merchants Bank plummeted 2.97 percent, Bank of Communications skidded 1.06 percent, China Life Insurance added 0.46 percent, Jiangxi Copper was down 2.64 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) declined 2.51 percent, PetroChina retreated 1.17 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) tumbled 1.67 percent, China Shenhua Energy sank 2.17 percent, Gemdale surrendered 2.33 percent, Poly Developments lost 2.48 percent and China Vanke shed 1,97 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the Dow and S&P 500 opened in the red and stayed that way, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ opened in the green on its way to a fresh record closing high.
The Dow dropped 148.47 points or 0.49 percent to finish at 20,069.79, while the NASDAQ gained 55.71 points or 0.45 percent to end at 12,519.95 and the S&P 500 fell 7.16 points or 0.19 percent to close at 3,691.96.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders were reluctant to make significant moves after the major averages all reached record closing highs last Friday. They may be waiting for further developments regarding a potential stimulus bill before making any substantial bets.
On the geopolitical scene, reports suggest that the U.S. is preparing to sanction at least a dozen more Chinese officials over their role in the recent disqualification of Hong Kong legislators.
Also, traders have started pricing in the prospect of a no deal outcome to EU-UK trade negotiations after reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was ready to walk away from negotiations.
Oil prices retreated on Monday as rising Covid-19 cases prompted more lockdowns around the world, threatening a global economic recovery. West Texas Intermediate oil futures sank 45 cents or 0.99 percent at $45.66.
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