BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market moved lower again on Wednesday, one session after it had ended the two-day losing streak in which it had faded not even two points. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,065-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials, properties and insurance companies, while the oil companies offered support.
For the day, the index dropped 37.91 points or 1.22 percent to finish at 3,066.89 after trading between 3,059.13 and 3,094.24. The Shenzhen Composite Index sank 22.27 points or 1.24 percent to end at 1,769.58.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China skidded 1.66 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.81 percent, China Construction Bank sank 1.24 percent, China Merchants Bank tumbled 1.89 percent, China Life Insurance plunged 2.87 percent, Ping An Insurance retreated 1.33 percent, PetroChina accelerated 1.96 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) added 0.57 percent, China Shenhua Energy declined 2.50 percent, Gemdale gained 0.83 percent, Poly Developments lost 1.71 percent and China Vanke eased 0.25 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks opened higher on Wednesday and saw further upside as the day progressed.
The Dow added 161.41 points or 0.56 percent to 28,745.09, while the NASDAQ gained 60.66 points or 0.67 percent to 9.129.24 and the S&P 500 rose 15.87 points or 0.49 percent to 3,253.05.
Buying interest picked up as President Donald Trump delivered a statement responding to last night's attack by Iran, indicating the U.S. would hit Iran with new sanctions but not respond militarily.
The markets also benefited from the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing much stronger than expected private sector job growth in December.
Crude oil prices declined sharply to four-week lows on Wednesday as worries about U.S.-Iran tensions eased a bit and official data showed an unexpected rise in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February slipped $3.09 or 4.9 percent at $59.61 a barrel.
Closer to home, China will release December numbers for consumer and producer prices later this morning. Consumer prices are expected to rise 4.7 percent on year, up from 4.5 percent in November. Producer prices are called lower by an annual 0.4 percent after sliding 1.4 percent in the previous month.
China also will see new loan data for December, with forecasts suggesting a total of 1,250 billion yuan - down from 1,390.0 billion in November.
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