China Stocks Likely To Remain Rangebound On Wednesday

The China stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last six trading days since the end of the three-day slide in which it had fallen more than 30 points or 1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,010-point plateau and it's expected to see little movement on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement, with bargain hunting pitted against interest rate concerns. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SCI finished sharply lower on Tuesday following losses from the resource stocks and mixed performances from the financial shares and properties.

For the day, the index stumbled 50.31 points or 1.65 percent to finish at 3,007.07 after trading between 3,005.34 and 3,052.43. The Shenzhen Composite Index plummeted 64.24 points or 3.77 percent to end at 1,638.44.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China advanced 0.92 percent, while Bank of China climbed 1.09 percent, China Construction Bank collected 0.42 percent, China Merchants Bank dipped 0.24 percent, Bank of Communications rose 0.30 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 1.42 percent, Jiangxi Copper plunged 4.61 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) plummeted 5.41 percent, Yankuang Energy eased 0.04 percent, PetroChina rallied 2.16 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) added 0.45 percent, Huaneng Power tumbled 2.17 percent, China Shenhua Energy strengthened 1.58 percent, Gemdale tanked 2.74 percent, Poly Developments gained 0.88 percent and China Vanke dropped 0.98 percent.

The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as the major averages opened mixed on Tuesday and, after some volatility, ended on opposite sides of the line and little changed.

The Dow added 63.86 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 37,798.97, while the NASDAQ shed 19.77 points or 0.12 percent to close at 15,865.25 and the S&P 500 sank 10.41 points or 0.21 percent to end at 5,051.41.

The lack of direction shown by the markets came as traders weighed the idea of picking up stocks at relatively reduced levels against concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The yield on the benchmark ten-year note reached its highest intraday levels in almost six months after the Federal Reserve released a report showing a continued increase in U.S. industrial production in the month of March.

Adding to the rate worries, Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated in remarks that rates are likely to remain higher for longer amid a "lack of progress" toward reaching the central bank's inflation goal.

Crude oil showed a lack of direction on Tuesday before easing slightly as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen indicated the U.S. plans to impose new sanctions on Iran in response to the country's attack on Israel. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery dipped $0.05 or 0.1 percent to $85.36 a barrel.

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