BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market turned lower again on Thursday, one session after it had ended the two-day slide in which it had tumbled more than 105 points or 3.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,000-point plateau although it's expected to bounce higher again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests modest support on optimism for a trade deal between the U.S. and China. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and oil and insurance companies.
For the day, the index sank 27.78 points or 0.92 percent to finish at 2,994.94 after trading between 2,991.78 and 3,025.78. The Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 14.97 points or 0.90 percent to end at 1,639.72.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China skidded 1.09 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.54 percent, China Construction Bank dropped 1.16 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.37 percent, China Life Insurance tumbled 2.26 percent, Ping An Insurance retreated 1.01 percent, PetroChina lost 0.79 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) declined 1.40 percent, China Shenhua Energy sank 1.18 percent, Gemdale lost 1.24 percent, Poly Developments plunged 2.26 percent, China Vanke was down 0.52 percent and CITIC Securities eased 0.61 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks fluctuated again on Thursday, extending recent volatility before finishing in the green.
The Dow added 91.87 points or 0.36 percent to 25,717.46, while the NASDAQ gained 25.79 points or 0.34 percent to 7,669.17 and the S&P 500 rose 10.07 points or 0.36 percent to 2,815.44.
The higher close on Wall Street came as traders reacted to reports of progress in the ongoing trade talks between the U.S. and China as U.S. representatives arrived in Beijing for a new round of high-level talks with Chinese officials.
Buying interest was subdued however, amidst largely disappointing economic data, including a Commerce Department showing GDP growth slowed more than estimated in the fourth quarter.
Also, the National Association of Realtors noted an unexpected pullback in pending home sales in February, while the Labor Department reported an unexpected drop in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.
Crude oil futures settled modestly lower Thursday, as an unexpected jump in crude inventories and worries about energy demand weighed on prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended down $0.11 or 0.2 percent at $59.30 a barrel.
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