BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market on Friday halted the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 45 points or 1.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,590-point plateau and it may take further damage on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on falling oil prices and concerns over global economic growth. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to follow on that path.
The SCI finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the financials, properties and oil and insurance companies.
For the day, the index tumbled 40.31 points or 1.53 percent to finish at the daily low of 2,593.74 after peaking at 2,629.16. The Shenzhen Composite Index plunged 2.46 percent to end at 1,327.42.
Among the actives, Gemdale declined 2.07 percent, while Poly Developments plummeted 2.48 percent, China Vanke plunged 2.36 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.74 percent, Bank of China lost 0.56 percent, China Construction Bank tumbled 1.78 percent, China Merchants Bank dropped 1.46 percent, China Life Insurance skidded 1.75 percent, Ping An Insurance retreated 1.99 percent, CITIC Securities declined 1.92 percent, PetroChina fell 0.26 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dipped 0.67 percent and China Shenhua Energy eased 0.10 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is brutal as stocks moved sharply lower on Friday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 falling to their lowest closing levels in seven and eight months, respectively.
The Dow shed 496.87 points or 2.02 percent to 24,100.51, while the NASDAQ lost 159.67 points or 2.26 percent to 6,910.67 and the S&P fell 50.59 points or 1.91 percent to 2,599.95. For the week, the Dow lost 1.2 percent, the NASDAQ fell 0.8 percent and the S&P slid 1.3 percent.
The sell-off on Wall Street came amid renewed concerns about the outlook for global economic growth following soft Chinese data. A report showing eurozone private sector growth has ebbed to its slowest pace in four years in December added to the negative sentiment.
In economic news, the Commerce Department noted weaker than expected retail sales growth in November due to a steep drop in sales by gas stations. Also, the Federal Reserve showed a bigger than expected increase in industrial production in November, but manufacturing output was unchanged.
Crude oil prices fell sharply on Friday on worries about global economic growth. Crude oil futures for January ended down $1.38 or 2.6 percent at $51.20 a barrel. Crude oil futures shed 2.7 percent in the week.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX