BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market on Thursday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had soared almost 80 points or 3 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 2,730-point plateau although it figures to rebound on Friday.
The global forecast is upbeat on easing trade war concerns. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are predicted to follow that lead.
The SCI finished barely lower on Thursday following profit taking from the properties, support from the financials and a mixed bag from the oil companies.
For the day, the index eased 1.61 points or 0.06 percent to finish at 2,729.24 after trading between 2,724.08 and 2,743.96. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, lost fell 3.20 points or 0.22 percent to end at 1,420.02.
Among the actives, Gemdale slid 0.97 percent, while Poly Real Estate dropped 1.18 percent, China Vanke fell 0.66 percent, China Construction Bank climbed 1.03 percent, Bank of China added 0.28 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China advanced 0.92 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.39 percent, China Life Insurance shed 0.51 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) lost 0.58 percent, PetroChina gained 0.34 percent and China Shenhua Energy skidded 1.27 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks opened higher on Thursday and continued to climb. With the upward move, the Dow and the S&P hit record intraday highs.
The Dow added 251.22 points or 0.95 percent to 26,656.98, while the NASDAQ gained 78.19 points or 0.98 percent to 8,028.23 and the S&P was up 22.80 points or 0.78 percent to 2,930.75.
The strength on Wall Street came as traders shrugged off concerns about the escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China, calling it overdone.
In economic news, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell last week to their lowest level since November 1969. Also, the Conference Board noted a continued increase by its index of leading economic indicators in August.
Crude oil futures failed to hold early gains and drifted lower on Thursday. Crude oil futures for October expired at $70.80 a barrel, losing $0.32 or 0.55 percent for the session. Crude oil futures for November delivery fell $0.45 or 0.6 percent at $70.32 a barrel.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX