(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, sinking more than 80 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,590-point plateau and it's expected to extend its losses on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests continued consolidation on rising Omicron COVID-19 concerns. The European and U.S. markets were solidly lower and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the financials, oil companies, energy producers and resource stocks, while the properties offered support.
For the day, the index retreated 38.76 points or 1.07 percent to finish at 3,593.60 after trading between 3,589.36 and 3,643.95. The Shenzhen Composite Index declined 44.74 points or 1.77 percent to end at 2,478.42. Among the actives, Bank of China shed 0.33 percent, while China Merchants Bank eased 0.16 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.27 percent, Jiangxi Copper tanked 2.19 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) added 0.65 percent, Yankung Energy Group plummeted 7.93 percent, PetroChina tumbled 1.82 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) shed 0.48 percent, Huaneng Power dropped 0.89 percent, China Shenhua Energy retreated 1.23 percent, Gemdale climbed 1.23 percent, Poly Developments jumped 1.87 percent, China Vanke rose 0.15 percent, China Fortune Land surged 3.98 percent, Beijing Capital Development was up 0.18 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications and China Minsheng Bank were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened sharply lower on Monday and remained that way throughout the session.
The Dow dropped 433.28 points or 1.23 percent to finish at 34,932.16, while the NASDAQ sank 188.74 points or 1.24 percent to close at 14,980.94 and the S&P 500 lost 52.62 points or 1.14 percent to end at 4,568.02.
Concerns about the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus contributed to the weakness on Wall Street. With the World Health Organization saying the number of cases is doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with community transmission, traders seem worried the new strain could derail the global economic recovery.
The spread of the Omicron variant could also lead to further global supply chain issues, which have contributed to elevated inflation.
Democratic West Virgina senator Joe Manchin's announcement that he will not support the Biden administration's Build Back Better plan added to the negative sentiment.
Crude oil futures settled sharply lower Monday as a rapid surge in Omicron variant of the coronavirus and stricter restrictions on movements in several countries raised concerns about outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended down by $2.63 or 3.7 percent at $68.23 a barrel.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
