China Stock Market May Reclaim 2,900-Point Level

The China stock market turned lower again on Monday, one session after it had ended the three-day losing streak in which it had retreated more than 40 points or 1.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,885-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on earnings optimism and a spike in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished sharply lower on Monday following losses from the energy producers and mixed performances from the financials and insurance companies.

For the day, the index dropped 37.23 points or 1.27 percent to finish at 2,886.97 after trading between 2,879.69 and 2,927.16. The Shenzhen Composite Index tumbled 27.84 points or 1.78 percent to end at 1,532.43.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.71 percent, while China Construction Bank fell 0.41 percent, China Life Insurance added 0.40 percent, Ping An Insurance shed 0.76 percent, PetroChina skidded 1.53 percent, China Shenhua Energy slid 0.57 percent, China Shenhua Energy sank 0.62 percent, Gemdale climbed 1.19 percent, Poly Developments perked 0.83 percent, China Vanke advanced 1.27 percent, CITIC Securities declined 1.64 percent and Bank of China and China Merchants Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks moved higher on Monday, although buying interest was subdued and limited the upside for the major averages.

The Dow added 17.70 points or 0.07 percent to 27,171.90, while the NASDAQ gained 57.65 points or 0.71 percent to 8,204.14 and the S&P 500 rose 8.42 points or 0.28 percent to 2,985.03.

The higher close on Wall Street partly reflected optimism about upcoming earnings news, as a slew of big-name companies are due to report their quarterly results this week.

Amazon (AMZN), Coca-Cola (KO), AT&T (T), Boeing (BA), Caterpillar (CAT), Facebook (FB), Alphabet (GOOGL), Intel (INTC), McDonald's (MCD), and Twitter (TWTR) are just a few of the companies due to report their quarterly results.

Crude oil prices moved higher on Monday amid escalation in tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August settled up $0.59 or 1.1 percent at $56.22 a barrel on the expiration day.