BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market on Thursday halted the seven-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 180 points or 6.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,905-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on renewed concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the financial shares and oil and insurance companies were mitigated by support from the property sector.
For the day, the index lost 20.83 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 2,906.07 after trading between 2,901.24 and 2,935.41. The Shenzhen Composite Index sank 13.72 points or 0.77 percent to end at 1,771.61.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped 0.92 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.28 percent, China Construction Bank skidded 1.05 percent, China Merchants Bank retreated 0.93 percent, China Life Insurance tumbled 1.64 percent, Ping An Insurance sank 0.92 percent, PetroChina fell 0.56 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) lost 0.63 percent, Baoshan Iron declined 0.94 percent, China Shenhua Energy dipped 0.42 percent, Gemdale jumped 1.81 percent, Poly Developments surged 3.22 percent and China Vanke soared 2.99 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks opened lower on Thursday, rebounded as the day progressed but then fell into the red towards the end of the session.
The Dow shed 128.11 points or 0.43 percent to end at 29,423.31, while the NASDAQ fell 13.99 points or 0.14 percent to 9,711.97 and the S&P 500 shed 5.51 points or 0.16 percent to 3,373.94.
Profit taking contributed to initial weakness on Wall Street, as some traders looked to cash in on recent gains amid news of a jump in new coronavirus cases.
The early weakness on Wall Street was subsequently seen as another buying opportunity for some traders even as a number of companies continue to warn about the impact of the outbreak.
In economic news, the Labor Department reported a modest increase in consumer prices in January, as well as a smaller than expected increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits.
Crude oil prices edged higher on Thursday despite lingering concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended up $0.25 or 0.5 percent at $51.42 a barrel.
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