BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market on Wednesday ended the two-day slide in which it had stumbled more than 70 points or 2.1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,200-point plateau although it's expected to turn lower again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation thanks to uninspired earnings news and a drop in crude oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down - and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SCI finished slightly higher on Wednesday as gains from the financials were capped by weakness from the oil and insurance companies and a mixed picture from the properties.
For the day, the index rose 3.02 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 3,201.61 after trading between 3,156.61 and 3,210.65. The Shenzhen Composite Index spiked 19.02 points or 1.10 percent to end at 1,747.88.
Among the actives, Gemdale advanced 1.22 percent, while Poly Developments fell 0.30 percent, China Vanke rose 0.30 percent, CITIC Securities climbed 0.96 percent, Bank of China dropped 1.01 percent, China Construction Bank collected 0.27 percent, China Merchants Bank jumped 1.62 percent, China life Insurance tumbled 1.43 percent, Ping An Insurance skidded 1.20 percent, PetroChina shed 0.65 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) retreated 1.02 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks showed a lack of direction Wednesday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before finishing in the red.
The Dow shed 59.34 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 26,597.05, while the NASDAQ lost 18.81 points or 0.23 percent to 8,102.01 and the S&P 500 fell 6.43 points or 0.22 percent to 2,927.25.
Traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves following a mixed batch of earnings news from big-name companies such as Boeing (BA), Caterpillar (CAT) and AT&T (T).
Crude oil prices edged lower on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration noted a much higher than expected increase in crude stockpiles in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down $0.41 or 0.6 percent at $65.89 a barrel.
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