BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market on Thursday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 40 points or 1.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,110-point plateau and it's likely to remain stuck in that neighborhood again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with profit taking likely - especially among the technology stocks. The European markets were slightly lower and the U.S. bourses were mixed - and the Asian shares figure to split the difference.
The SCI finished slightly lower on Thursday as weakness from the oil companies was mitigated by support from the financials and insurance stocks.
For the day, the index slid 5.68 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 3,109.50 after trading between 3,105.58 and 3,128.72. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 11.19 points or 0.63 percent to end at 1,767.96.
Among the actives, Bank of China added 0.27 percent, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.71 percent, Bank of Communications picked up 0.17 percent, China Construction Bank perked 0.70 percent, China Merchants Bank gained 0.35 percent, China life Insurance climbed 1.37 percent, Ping An Insurance jumped 1.01 percent, PetroChina fell 0.63 percent and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is inconclusive as stocks were mixed on Thursday, with the Dow rising to its best closing level in three months, but the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 moved lower.
The Dow climbed 95.02 points or 0.38 percent to 25,241.41, but the NASDAQ slid 54.17 points or 0.70 percent to 7,635.07 and the S&P 500 fell 1.98 points or 0.07 percent to 2,770.37.
The advance by the Dow was fueled by a sharp jump from McDonald's (MCD), while the pullback by the NASDAQ was due to profit taking after the tech-heavy index hit new record highs in recent sessions.
In economic news, the Labor Department noted a modest decrease in initial jobless claims in the week ended June 2nd.
Crude oil futures rose Thursday, trimming recent losses after sliding to its lowest in two months. Robust U.S. production, a stronger dollar and expectations that OPEC will end its supply quota have weighed on oil prices of late. But with bargain hunting in effect, WTI light sweet oil was up $1 at $65.78 a barrel.
Closer to home, China will release May numbers for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to rise 19.6 percent on year after climbing 21.5 percent in April. Exports are called higher by an annual 11.1 percent, slowing from 12.9 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at $32.45 billion, up from $28.78 billion a month earlier.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX