Investors at a stock exchange in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province. Photo: VCG

Although pressured by the global stock rout, China's stock market is still the "safest" among global markets and is unlikely to sink below 2,685 points, the lowest point so far this year, said one Chinese stock analyst. 

On Tuesday, the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets sank after opening but managed to recover some ground. By 11:30 am, the Shanghai Composite Index had edged up 0.03 percent to 2,790 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index had climbed to 10,271 points, a 0.18 percent rise. 

The tech-heavy ChiNext board edged up by 0.96 percent to 1,929 points.

The gains, though mild, are in stark comparison to what many overseas markets experienced overnight. The Dow Jones shed nearly 3,000 points, marking the largest one-day point decline in US history. The S&P 500 plunged roughly 8 percent immediately following the opening bell, triggering a circuit breaker for a third time this month. 

Canadian stocks also plunged, falling almost 10 percent in wild trading. 

"The overseas market rout will surely have knock-on effects on Chinese stocks, but in China we can see a strong rebound approaching, spurred by multiple factors including policy tools to lift the economy and measures to contain the coronavirus," said Li Daxiao, chief economist at the Shenzhen-based Yingda Securities. 

He said mainland stocks are unlikely to sink below their earlier low of 2,685 points on February 4, when China was deeply entrenched in the coronavirus outbreak. 

"It's hopeful that A shares could recover to the 3,000-point mark by the end of this year," he said. 

Shao Yu, an economist at Orient Securities, told the Global Times that it's impossible for Chinese stocks to be completely insulated from the global stock disaster, but nor will they become the center of the storm. 

"Advantages of Chinese assets - lower risks and higher yields - are emerging, and global capital will gradually flow into the Chinese markets," he said.