BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 20 points or 0.6 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just shy of the 3,390-point plateau and it's expected to see little movement on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, as investors wait to see if there's any slowdown in the Iran/Israel conflict. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.
The SCI finished barely higher on Wednesday as gains from the financial shares were offset by weakness from the property sector and a mixed picture from the resource stocks.
For the day, the index perked 1.40 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 3,388.81 after trading between 3,369.99 and 3,391.71. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.58 points or 0.03 percent to end at 2,011.10.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China climbed 1.12 percent, while Bank of China rallied 2.42 percent, Agricultural Bank of China strengthened 1.60 percent, China Merchants Bank fell 0.28 percent, Bank of Communications collected 0.39 percent, China Life Insurance tumbled 1.79 percent, Jiangxi Copper dipped 0.27 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) eased 0.14 percent, Yankuang Energy retreated 1.76 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) skidded 1.03 percent, China Shenhua Energy sank 0.71 percent, Gemdale dropped 0.80 percent, Poly Developments declined 1.35 percent, China Vanke slumped 1.38 percent and PetroChina and Huaneng Power were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages spent most of Wednesday's trade in positive territory before turning lower and ending mixed and little changed.
The Dow shed 44.14 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 42,171.66, while the NASDAQ rose 25.18 points or 0.13 percent to close at 19,546.27 and the S&P 500 eased 1.85 points or 0.03 percent to end at 5,980.87.
The lackluster day on Wall Street came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged. Fed officials still seem to expect to two interest rate cuts this year, lowering the rate to a range of 4.0 percent to 3.75 percent by the end of 2025.
In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits edged modestly lower last week. Also, the Commerce Department saw a steep drop by new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of May.
Crude oil price ticked higher on Wednesday as the Israel-Iran conflict, which began with Israeli airstrikes on June 12, entered the sixth straight day with casualties increasing on both sides. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery rose by $0.30 to settle at $75.15 per barrel.
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