BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, surrendering almost 50 points or 1.9 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 2,550-point plateau and it may take further damage on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative after the FOMC hiked interest rates and hinted at more next year. The European markets were up and the Asian bourses were down and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials, properties and oil companies.
For the day, the index retreated 27.09 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 2,549.56 after trading between 2,547.08 and 2,579.87. The Shenzhen Composite Index skidded 18.06 points or 1.38 percent to end at 1,294.49.
Among the actives, China Merchants Bank plunged 4.08 percent, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.37 percent, Bank of China dipped 0.28 percent, China Construction Bank dropped 1.06 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.70 percent, Ping An Insurance skidded 1.20 percent, PetroChina tumbled 2.10 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) plummeted 2.75 percent, China Shenhua Energy was up 0.10 percent, Gemdale lost 0.31 percent, Poly Developments fell 0.56 percent, China Vanke declined 0.47 percent and CITIC Securities contracted 1.38 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is brutal as stocks saw typically post-Federal Reserve decision volatility on Wednesday before ending sharply lower to their worst closing levels in over a year.
The Dow shed 351.98 points or 1.49 percent to finish at 23,323.66, while the NASDAQ lost 147.08 points or 2.17 percent to 6,636.83 and the S&P fell 39.20 points or 1.54 percent to 2,506.96.
The late-day sell-off on Wall Street came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to raise interest rates by a quarter point. The central bank raised its target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 2.25 percent to 2.50 percent.
While the Fed also forecast fewer than previously estimated rate hikes next year, the central bank's tone was not as dovish as some traders had hoped. The Fed's median projection for the federal funds rate in 2019 was reduced to 2.9 percent from the 3.1 percent expected in September.
Crude oil futures ended higher on Wednesday, despite data showing a less than expected drop in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. Crude oil futures for January expired at $47.20 a barrel, gaining $0.96 or 2.1 percent. Crude futures for February ended up $1.57 or 3.4 percent at $48.17 a barrel.
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