BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, shedding almost 30 points or 0.9 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just shy of the 3,360-point plateau and it may extend its losses again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative thanks to U.S. involvement in the Israel/Iran conflict. The European and U.S. markets were mixed but the Asian markets figure to open under water.
The SCI finished slightly lower on Friday as losses from the oil companies were offset by gains from the financial shares and a mixed picture from the property sector.
For the day, the index eased 2.21 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 3,359.90 after trading between 3,357.71 and 3,370.80. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 11.88 points or 0.60 percent to end at 1,969.04.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China gained 0.96 percent, while Bank of China improved 0.90 percent, Agricultural Bank of China added 0.52 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.79 percent, Bank of Communications spiked 2.06 percent, China Life Insurance rallied 1.77 percent, Jiangxi Copper fell 0.18 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) jumped 1.62 percent, Yankuang Energy advanced 0.99 percent, PetroChina dropped 0.97 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) retreated 1.54 percent, Huaneng Power dipped 0.14 percent, China Shenhua Energy and Poly Developments both perked 0.13 percent, China Vanke shed 0.47 percent and Gemdale were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street remains murky as the major averages opened higher on but quickly fell under water, finally finishing mixed and little changed.
The Dow rose 35.16 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 42,206.82, while the NASDAQ dropped 98.86 points or 0.51 percent to close at 19,447.41 and the S&P 500 sank 13.03 points or 0.22 percent to end at 5,967.84.
The positive boost to kick off trade on Wall Street came after the White House said President Donald Trump sees a 'substantial chance of negotiations' and would decide within two weeks whether to authorize a direct U.S. military strike on Iran.
Of course, on Saturday the United States bombed three sites in Iran that are suspected nuclear development areas. The fallout from those attacks remains uncertain.
On the economic front, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said on Friday that regional manufacturing activity remained weak in June. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity was unchanged in June after jumping to a negative 4.0 in May, with a negative reading indicating contraction. Economists had expected the index to rise to a negative 1.0.
Crude oil price slipped on Friday as concerns of U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict faded, even as the fighting between the two nations intensified. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery closed down by $0.21 to $74.93 per barrel.
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