BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - Ahead of the Labor Day break, the China stock market had snapped the three-day losing streak ion which it had plummeted almost 140 points or 4.5 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,080-point plateau and it may turn lower again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on sliding crude oil prices and ahead of U.S. employment data later today. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Tuesday as gains from the financials and oil companies were capped by weakness from the insurance stocks and a mixed bag from the property sector.
For the day, the index advanced 15.84 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 3,078.34 after trading between 3,052.62 and 3,088.41. The Shenzhen Composite Index climbed 10.97 points or 0.67 percent to end at 1,636.59.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China added 0.17 percent, while China Minsheng Bank was up 0.31 percent, China Construction Bank collected 0.40 percent, China Merchants Bank tumbled 2.49 percent, China Life Insurance skidded 2.23 percent, Ping An Insurance fell 0.38 percent, PetroChina perked 0.14 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) rose 0.35 percent, China Shenhua Energy advanced 0.87 percent, Gemdale added 0.66 percent, Poly Development gained 0.22 percent, China Vanke retreated 1.60 percent and Bank of China was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as stock shrugged off a positive open Thursday but turned lower as the day progressed and finished in the red.
The Dow shed 122.35 points or 0.46 percent to 25,307.79, while the NASDAQ lost 12.87 points or 0.16 percent to 8,036.77 and the S&P 500 fell 6.21 points or 0.21 percent to 2,917.52.
The pullback on Wall Street was attributed to continued disappointment with Wednesday's remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggesting the central bank is not likely to lower interest rates in the near future as some had hoped.
Traders also moved out of risky assets such as stocks ahead of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report later today.
In economic news, the Labor Department said productivity surged 3.6 percent in the first quarter after climbing by a downwardly revised 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders for manufactured goods jumped more than expected in March amid a rebound in orders for transportation equipment.
Crude oil futures fell to their lowest level in about a month on Thursday, weighed down by data showing record U.S. crude production and inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down $1.79 or 2.8 percent at $61.81 a barrel, the lowest settlement since April 1.
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