(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in consecutive trading days, sinking more than 25 points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,615-point plateau although it figures to find traction on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is optimistic on easing fears regarding the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SCI finished slightly lower on Monday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and resource companies.
For the day, the index dipped 2.08 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 3,615.97 after trading between 3,601.94 and 3,632.19. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 2.24 points or 0.09 percent to end at 2,494.20.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 0.22 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.33 percent, China Construction Bank shed 0.68 percent, China Merchants Bank skidded 1.06 percent, Bank of Communications added 0.44 percent, China Life Insurance gained 0.43 percent, Jiangxi Copper shed 0.79 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) plummeted 4.20 percent, Yankuang Energy gathered 0.73 percent, PetroChina was up 0.20 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) advanced 0.95 percent, Huaneng Power tanked 2.59 percent, China Shenhua Energy jumped 1.51 percent, Gemdale skyrocketed 9.90 percent, Poly Developments plunged 2.05 percent, China Vanke eased 0.20 percent and China Fortune Land perked 0.55 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Monday and accelerated as the day progressed, ending at or near record closing highs.
The Dow spiked 351.82 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 36,302.38, while the NASDAQ surged 217.89 points or 1.39 percent to end at 15,871.26 and the S&P 500 gained 65.40 points or 1.38 percent to close at 4,791.19.
The continued strength on Wall Street came amid easing concerns about the economic impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. While Omicron seems to be more transmissible, the new strain purportedly causes milder symptoms and could accelerate the end of the pandemic.
Stocks may also have benefitted from so-called window-dressing going into the end of the year, with traders looking to boost the value of the portfolios.
Crude oil futures ended sharply higher Monday amid hopes the Omicron variant will not any significantly impact global economic recovery. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended up by $1.78 or 2.4 percent at $75.57 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.
