BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had gained almost 35 points or 0.9 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,920-point plateau and it figures to remain in that neighborhood gain on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher on conflicting messages about the status of the war in the Middle East. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the properties, gains from the oil companies and a mixed picture from the financial sector.
For the day, the index sank 29.27 points or 0.74 percent to finish at 3,919.29 after trading between 3,900.12 and 3,952.58. The Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 40.98 points or 1.59 percent to end at 2,536.25.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.66 percent, while Bank of China climbed 1.19 percent, Agricultural Bank of China spiked 3.44 percent, China Merchants Bank dipped 0.15 percent, Bank of Communications improved 1.14 percent, China Life Insurance tumbled 1.78 percent, Jiangxi Copper tanked 2.90 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) advanced 1.04 percent, Yankuang Energy jumped 1.84 percent, PetroChina rallied 2.32 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) gained 1.02 percent, Huaneng Power fell 0.42 percent, China Shenhua Energy soared 2.30 percent, Gemdale cratered 3.27 percent, Poly Developments plunged 3.23 percent and China Vanke stumbled 2.97 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is flat to higher as the major averages opened lower on Thursday but quickly bounced higher and hugged the line for most of the day, ending mixed and little changed.
The Dow slipped 61.07 points or 0.13 percent to finish at 46,504.67, while the NASDAQ added 38.23 points or 0.18 percent to end at 21,879.18 and the S&P 500 rose 7.37 points or 0.11 percent to close at 6,582.69.
For the holiday-shortened week, the NASDAQ spiked 4.4 percent, the S&P 500 surged 3.4 percent and the Dow jumped 3 percent.
The early weakness on Wall Street came amid renewed concerns about an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East following President Donald Trump's primetime address Wednesday night.
However, stocks bounced well off their worst levels after a report from Iranian state news said Iran and Oman are drafting a protocol to 'monitor transit' through the Strait of Hormuz.
Crude oil prices catapulted Thursday on concerns of supply disruptions following Trump's address. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $11.94 or 11.93 percent at $112.06 per barrel.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
