BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market headed south again on Wednesday, one session after halting the three-day slide in which it had surrendered almost 45 points or 1.9 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,465-point plateau although it may tick higher again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside thanks to bargain hunting and a bump in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the Asian bourses are likely to follow suit.
The SCI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares and insurance and oil companies.
For the day, the index dropped 28.61 points or 1.15 percent to finish at 2,465.29 after trading between 2,456.42 and 2,500.28. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 11.48 points or 0.91 percent to end at 1,256.39.
Among the actives, China Merchants Bank retreated 2.50 percent, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 1.70 percent, Bank of China lost 1.94 percent, China Construction Bank fell 1.88 percent, China Life Insurance dropped 2.16 percent, Ping An Insurance skidded 1.64 percent, PetroChina dipped 0.69 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) eased 0.79 percent, China Shenhua Energy was down 1.06 percent, Gemdale tumbled 2.29 percent, Poly Developments slid 0.68 percent, China Vanke added 0.34 percent and CITIC Securities was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks shrugged off an early move to the downside on Wednesday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before finishing slightly higher.
The Dow added 18.78 points or 0.08 percent to 23,346.24, while the NASDAQ gained 30.66 points or 0.46 percent to 6,665.94 and the S&P was up 3.18 points or 0.13 percent to 2,510.03.
The initial sell-off on Wall Street came amid lingering concerns about the outlook for to the global economy following soft Chinese manufacturing data in December - however, bargain hunting took hold shortly thereafter.
Traders also kept an eye Washington as President Donald Trump invited congressional leaders to a meeting as the partial government shutdown entered its twelfth day due to an impasse over funding for Trump's controversial border wall.
Democrats are due to take control of the House later today and intend to move forward with plans to reopen the government without providing funding for the wall, although the White House has called the plan a non-starter.
Crude oil prices were up Wednesday, climbing to a two-week high on hopes the OPEC and its allies will start reducing output this month. Crude oil futures for February ended up $1.13 or 2.5 percent at $46.54 a barrel, the highest settlement in two weeks.
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