The China stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than 15 points or 0.4 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,600-point plateau and it's likely to be stuck in neutral on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian suggests directionless trade amidst a lack of catalysts, with weakness from the oil stocks offset by gains from technology shares. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The SCI finished slightly higher on Monday as gains from the resource stocks were capped by weakness from the financials and properties.
For the day, the index added 7.70 points or 0.21 percent to finish at 3,599.54 after trading between 3,581.90 and 3,600.38. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 6.26 points or 0.26 percent to end at 2,413.91.
Among the actives, Bank of China shed 0.63 percent, while China Construction Bank lost 0.44 percent, China Merchants Bank dropped 0.92 percent, Bank of Communications eased 0.20 percent, China Life Insurance skidded 1.06 percent, Jiangxi Copper rose 0.12 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) was up 0.19 percent, Yanzhou Coal added 0.55 percent, PetroChina perked 1.28 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) advanced 0.89 percent, Baoshan Iron tanked 2.15 percent, Poly Developments plunged 2.38 percent, China Vanke retreated 1.48 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Gemdale were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the major averages quickly headed south on Monday; the Dow and the S&P saw the losses accelerate as the day progressed, while the NASDAQ ended up in positive territory.
The Dow dropped 126.15 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 34,630.24, while the NASDAQ gained 67.23 points or 0.49 percent to end at 13,881.72 and the S&P 500 fell 3.37 points or 0.08 percent to close at 4,226.52.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves after the major averages climbed to their best closing levels in a month last week.
Traders remain optimistic about the economic outlook but are still on edge about the possibility of the Federal Reserve scaling back its ultra-easy monetary policy.
Crude oil prices drifted lower Monday, coming off 30-month highs after data showed a drop in China's crude oil imports in April. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down by $0.39 or 0.6 percent at $69.23 a barrel.
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