China Bourse May Test Support At 3,100 Points

The China stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day losing streak in which it had fallen almost 20 points or 0.6 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,125-point plateau and it may take further damage on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is one of caution ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate decision and statement later today. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished barely lower on Tuesday following losses from the properties, support from the resource stocks and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index dipped 0.98 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 3,124.96 after trading between 3,113.53 and 3,131.13. The Shenzhen Composite Index sank 16.83 points or 0.88 percent to end at 1,904.65.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China advanced 0.86 percent, while Bank of China improved 0.81 percent, China Construction Bank collected 0.49 percent, China Merchants Bank dipped 0.18 percent, Bank of Communications climbed 1.06 percent, China Life Insurance rallied 2.00 percent, Jiangxi Copper rose 0.20 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) added 0.46 percent, Yankuang Energy surged 3.85 percent, PetroChina strengthened 1.09 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) spiked 2.33 percent, Huaneng Power gained 0.37 percent, China Shenhua Energy gathered 0.48 percent, Gemdale shed 0.28 percent, Poly Developments lost 0.30 percent and China Vanke eased 0.08 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened flat, tumbled early and then saw a late recovery to finish with only modest losses.

The Dow shed 106.57 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 34,517.73, while the NASDAQ lost 32.05 points or 0.23 percent to close at 13,678.19 and the S&P 500 fell 9.58 points or 0.22 percent to end at 4,443.95.

The weakness on Wall Street came as traders remained on edge ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement later today.

While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, traders will pay close attention to the accompanying statement and the central bank’s projections for clues about the outlook for rates.

Negative sentiment may also have been generated by a Commerce Department report showing a sharp pullback in U.S. housing starts in August. Also, the Commerce Department said building permits surged more than expected in August.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Tuesday after posting gains in the three previous sessions to touch a 10-month high. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended lower by $0.28 or 0.3 percent at $91.20 a barrel.