BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market on Wednesday snapped the two-day slide in which it had tumbled more than 105 points or 3.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,020-point plateau although it may head south again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on recession concerns and sliding crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financials, properties and oil and insurance companies.
For the day, the index perked 25.62 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 3,022.72 after trading between 2,987.77 and 3,022.76. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 14.75 points or 0.90 percent to end at 1,654.69.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China climbed 1.10 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.27 percent, China Construction Bank jumped 1.32 percent, China Merchants Bank soared 2.89 percent, China Life Insurance rose 0.33 percent, Ping An Insurance spiked 2.10 percent, PetroChina was up 0.13 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) gathered 0.35 percent, China Shenhua Energy perked 0.21 percent, Gemdale accelerated 2.21 percent, Poly Developments surged 2.70 percent, China Vanke advanced 2.33 percent and CITIC Securities gained 0.26 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks fluctuated on Wednesday, reflecting recent volatility before ending in the red.
The Dow shed 32.14 points or 0.13 percent to 25,625.59, while the NASDAQ lost 48.15 points or 0.63 percent to 7,643.38 and the S&P 500 fell 13.09 points or 0.46 percent to 2,805.37.
The lower close on Wall Street came amid a notable drop by bond yields, which extended the downward trend seen in the past few sessions. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note ended the day at its lowest closing level since December 2017.
Bond yields have moved to the downside amid concerns about the economic outlook, with an inversion of the yield curve leading to worries about a potential recession.
Traders also reacted to a report from the Commerce Department showing the U.S. trade deficit narrowed more than expected in January due to a steep drop in the value of imports.
Crude oil futures ended lower Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration noted an unexpected increase in crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended down $0.53 or 0.9 percent at $59.41 a barrel.
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