BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, retreating more than 50 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 2,930-point plateau and it's looking at continued consolidation again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on continued uncertainty regarding a trade deal between the United States and China. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the oil companies and mixed performances from the financial shares and properties.
For the day, the index sank 10.26 points or 0.35 percent to finish at 2,929.06 after trading between 2,923.52 and 2,946.75. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 12.43 points or 0.76 percent to end at 1,616.19.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.67 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.27 percent, China Construction Bank lost 0.41 percent, China Merchants Bank added 0.25 percent, China Life Insurance soared 3.21 percent, Ping An Insurance rose 0.19 percent, PetroChina tumbled 1.67 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) skidded 1.21 percent, China Shenhua Energy was up 0.05 percent, Gemdale was up 0.17 percent, Poly Developments dropped 1.23 percent and China Vanke lost 0.45 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks opened lower on Thursday and remained in the red throughout the session.
The Dow shed 140.46 points or 0.52 percent to 27,046.23, while the NASDAQ lost 11.62points or 0.14 percent to 8,292.36 and the S&P 500 fell 9.21 points or 0.30 percent to 3,037.56.
The pullback on Wall Street came amid renewed uncertainty about the potential for a long-term U.S.-China trade deal as China may be unwilling to budge on the thorniest issues.
Upbeat earnings news helped limit the downside for the markets, however, with Apple (AAPL) and Facebook (FB) posting notable gains after reporting better than expected quarterly results.
In economic news, the Labor Department noted a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits last week. Also, the Commerce Department said personal income and spending both increased as expected in September.
Crude oil futures drifted lower on Thursday, extending losses to a fourth successive session amid concerns over outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended down $0.88 or 1.6 percent at $54.18 a barrel.
Closer to home, China will see October results for the manufacturing PMI from Caixin later this morning. The index is expected to show a score of 51.0, down from 51.4 in September.
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