BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has finished lower in six straight sessions, retreating almost 270 points or 9.2 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 2,730-point plateau and it figures to be in for another rough ride on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets continues to suggest heavy selling on COVIC-19 fears. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and oil and insurance companies.
For the day, the index fell 50.88 points or 1.83 percent to finish at the daily low of 2,728.76 after peaking at 2,815.87. The Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 26.49 points or 1.55 percent to end at 1,678.25.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China skidded 1.16 percent, while Bank of China sank 1.69 percent, China Construction Bank dropped 0.93 percent, China Merchants Bank tumbled 2.87 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 1.68 percent, Ping An Insurance plunged 3.15 percent, PetroChina shed 1.20 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) lost 1.31 percent, China Shenhua Energy fell 1.15 percent, Gemdale plummeted 4.55 percent, Poly Developments was down 4.44 percent and China Vanke cratered 6.44 percent.
The lead from Wall Street remains negative as stocks moved sharply lower again on Wednesday, extending recent weakness.
The Dow plummeted 1,338.46 points or 6.30 percent to end at 19,898.92, while the NASDAQ dropped 344.94 points or 4.70 percent to 6,989.84 and the S&P 500 tumbled 131.09 points or 5.18 percent to 2,398.10.
The weakness on Wall Street came as traders cashed in on Tuesday's strong gains amid continued concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
Gold stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 13.6 percent. The sell-off by gold stocks came amid a steep drop by the price of the precious metal, as gold for April delivery plunged $47.90 to $1,477.90 an ounce
Crude oil prices crashed to their lowest level in 18 years on Wednesday as growing worries about an imminent recession due to the coronavirus outbreak raised concerns about global energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down $6.58 or 24 percent at $20.37 a barrel, the lowest settlement price since February 2002.
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