BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, dropping more than 40 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,075-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on solid economic data and continued momentum from the U.S./China trade deal. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were firmly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and oil and insurance companies, while the properties came in mixed.
For the day, the index sank 15.96 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 3,074.08 after trading between 3,070.88 and 3,096.37. The Shenzhen Composite Index dipped 2.64 points or 0.15 percent to end at 1,811.57.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China skidded 1.36 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.54 percent, China Construction Bank lost 0.70 percent, China Merchants Bank slid 0.42 percent, China Life Insurance tumbled 2.53 percent, Ping An Insurance fell 0.30 percent, PetroChina dropped 0.64 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) sank 0.38 percent, China Shenhua Energy eased 0.17 percent, Gemdale dipped 0.07 percent, Poly Developments was down 0.62 percent and China Vanke rose 0.13 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is strong as stocks moved sharply higher on Thursday, extending recent gains as the major averages hit fresh record closing highs.
The Dow jumped 262.42 points or 0.92 percent to 29,297.64, while the NASDAQ added 98.44 points or 1.06 percent to 9.357.13 and the S&P 500 rose 27.52 points or 0.84 percent to 3,316.81.
The markets continued to benefit from upward momentum following the official signing of the U.S.-China phase one trade deal on Wednesday.
A batch of largely upbeat U.S. economic data also contributed to the buying interest as the Labor Department noted an unexpected decrease in initial jobless claims last week. The Commerce Department also said U.S. retail sales rose in line with estimates last month.
Also, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported substantial acceleration in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in January, while the National Association of Home Builders saw a pullback in homebuilder confidence in January.
Crude oil futures settled higher on Thursday, rebounding from losses in the previous session thanks to a drop in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for February ended up $0.71 or 1.2 percent at $58.52 a barrel.
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