The China stock market on Tuesday halted the four-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than 45 points or 1.4 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,280-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian is negative, with profit taking expected amid concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials and resource stocks, while the properties were mixed.
For the day, the index advanced 21.57 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 3,279.61 after trading between 3,246.14 and 3,280.42. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 17,21 points or 0.81 percent to end at 2,142.08.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 0.23 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.62 percent, China Construction Bank advanced 0.89 percent, China Merchants Bank added 0.40 percent, Bank of Communications improved 0.82 percent, China Life Insurance perked 0.22 percent, Jiangxi Copper gathered 0.26 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) strengthened 1.47 percent, Yankuang Energy retreated 1.52 percent, PetroChina increased 0.38 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) climbed 1.08 percent, Huaneng Power surged 4.61 percent, China Shenhua Energy was up 0.14 percent, Gemdale dropped 0.92 percent, Poly Developments gained 0.47 percent, China Vanke slid 0.23 percent and China Fortune Land rallied 2.24 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday. The Dow spent all day in the red, while the NASDAQ and S&P visited positive territory for a bit but couldn't hold the gains and ended under water.
The Dow tumbled 232.39 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 32,656.70, while the NASDAQ dipped 11.44 points or 0.10 percent to close at 11,455.54 and the S&P 500 fell 12.09 points or 0.30 percent to end at 3,970.15.
The lackluster performance on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves amid ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates.
In U.S. economic news, MNI Indicators released a report showing Chicago-area business activity unexpectedly contracted at a slightly faster rate in February. Also, the Conference Board said U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly decreased for the second consecutive month in February.
Following the pullback a day earlier, the price of crude oil showed a strong move back to the upside on Tuesday, thanks to optimism about increased demand from China. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery surged $1.37 or 1.8 percent to $77.05 a barrel.
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