China Bourse Tipped To Extend Losing Streak

The China stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, sinking almost a dozen points or 0.3 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,465-point plateau and it may take further damage on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on concerns over tax rates in the United States. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the financials and oil companies were tempered by support from the property sector.

For the day, the index dipped 7.82 points or 0.23 percent to finish at 3,465.11 after trading between 3,456.32 and 3,485.36. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 10.97 points or 0.48 percent to end at 2,288.19.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.74 percent, Bank of China lost 0.60 percent, China Construction Bank fell 0.42 percent, China Merchants Bank sank 0.53 percent, Bank of Communications slid 0.61 percent, China Life Insurance jumped 1.79 percent, Jiangxi Copper rose 0.24 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) climbed 1.19 percent, Yanzhou Coal dropped 0.85 percent, PetroChina skidded 1.42 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dipped 0.47 percent, Baoshan Iron spiked 2.73 percent, Gemdale gained 0.58 percent, Poly Developments improved 0.35 percent, China Vanke advanced 1.29 percent and China Fortune Land surged 4.55 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages showed little movement early on Thursday but headed due south in the afternoon to finish firmly in the red.

The Dow tumbled 321.41 points or 0.94 percent to finish at 33,815.90, while the NASDAQ skidded 131.81 points or 0.94 percent to end at 13,818.41 and the S&P 500 sank 38.44 points or 0.92 percent to close at 4,134.98.

The afternoon sell-off came following reports that President Joe Biden plans to propose nearly doubling the capital gains tax rate for wealthy individuals to fund spending on childcare and education.

Earlier in the day, traders saw a Labor Department report unexpectedly show a continued decline in initial jobless claims last week. Also, the National Association of Realtors noted another steep drop in U.S. existing home sales in March.

Crude oil futures rebounded from early losses to settle slightly higher on Thursday, gaining for the first time in three sessions as worries about the energy demand outlook weighed on oil prices early in the day. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended up by $0.08 or 0.1 percent at $61.43 a barrel.