BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, tumbling more than 80 points or 3.2 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,515-point plateau and it's in line for further damage on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft as there appears to be no end in sight for the U.S. government shutdown. The European markets were slightly higher and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financials, properties and insurance companies.
For the day, the index sank 20.02 points or 0.79 percent to finish at 2,516.25 after trading between 2,498.69 and 2,527.42.
Among the actives, Gemdale declined 2.29 percent, while Poly Developments plunged 3.40 percent, China Vanke plummeted 4.15 percent, China Merchants Bank tumbled 2.01 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.76 percent, Bank of China collected 0.28 percent, China Construction Bank skidded 1.56 percent, China Life Insurance dropped 1.02 percent, Ping An Insurance retreated 1.12 percent, PetroChina lost 0.40 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) added 0.36 percent and China Shenhua Energy retreated 2.17 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as stocks moved sharply lower on Friday ahead of a government shutdown that now seems likely to last at least through Christmas.
The Dow shed 414.23 points or 1.81 percent to 22,445.37, while the NASDAQ plummeted 195.41 points or 2.99 percent to 6,332.99 and the S&P 500 fell 50.80 points or 2.06 percent to 2,416.62. For the week, the NASDAQ nosedived 8.4 percent, the S&P lost 7.1 percent and the Dow fell 6.9 percent.
The extended sell-off on Wall Street came as traders kept an eye on developments on Capitol Hill, with lawmakers at an impasse over funding for President Donald Trump's controversial wall on the border with Mexico.
Traders largely shrugged off mixed economic data on durable goods orders, third quarter GDP, personal income and spending and consumer sentiment.
Crude oil futures ended lower on Friday, extending losses from previous session amid concerns over excess supply in the market. Crude oil futures for February ended down $0.29 or 0.6 percent at $45.59 a barrel, the lowest settlement since July 2017.
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