Higher Open Called For China Stock Market

BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has tracked higher in consecutive trading days, gathering almost 70 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just shy of the 4,100-point plateau and it's expected to open to the upside again on Wednesday.The global forecas…

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat thanks to sliding oil prices and support from the technology shares. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the property stocks and financial shares.

For the day, the index added 20.50 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 4,094.40 after trading between 4,052.17 and 4,097.42. The Shenzhen Composite Index rallied 57.87 points or 2.08 percent to end at 2,840.67.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened mixed but quickly picked up steam to finish solidly in positive territory.

The Dow gained 136.46 points or 0.26 percent to finish at a record 52,319.20, while the NASDAQ jumped 393.57 points or 1.52 percent to end at 26,213.72 and the S&P 500 improved 58.93 points or 0.79 percent to close at 7,499.36.

The strength on Wall Street came as technology stocks continued to regain ground following the sharp pullback seen last week. Semiconductor stocks helped to lead the way higher once again, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiking 3.9 percent.

Crude oil prices slumped amid conflicting messages about a new round of talks between the U.S. and Iran. While President Donald Trump claimed a meeting is set to be held in Qatar, a spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry reportedly denied that talks were scheduled.

With increasing tanker traffic across the Strait of Hormuz eased supply concerns, West Texas Intermediate was down $1.29 or 1.82 percent at $69.46 per barrel.