The China stock market on Wednesday halted the three-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 100 points or 3.1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,510-point plateau and it’s looking at another soft start again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on growing concerns over rising inflation and the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, resource stocks and properties.
For the day, the index lost 18.05 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 3,510.96 after trading between 3,503.82 and 3,521.11. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 3.19 points or 0.14 percent to end at 2,327.46.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped 0.95 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.30 percent, China Construction Bank fell 0.57 percent, China Merchants Bank tumbled 2.06 percent, Bank of Communications sank 0.81 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 1.52 percent, Jiangxi Copper tanked 3.02 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) plunged 3.12 percent, Yanzhou Coal plummeted 2.99 percent, PetroChina surrendered 1.44 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) declined 2.21 percent, Baoshan iron cratered 3.19 percent, Gemdale lost 2.40 percent, Poly Developments slid 1.75 percent, China Vanke was down 1.91 percent and Beijing Capital Development skidded 0.88 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks opened firmly in the red on Wednesday, pared some of the losses but still ended in negative territory.
The Dow shed 164.62 points or 0.48 percent to finish at 33,896.04, while the NASDAQ eased 3.90 points or 0.03 percent to end at 13,299.74 and the S&P 500 fell 12.15 points or 0.29 percent to close at 4,115.68.
The lower open on Wall Street preceded the release of minutes from the FOMC’s latest meeting, which showed that members debated whether or not increasing inflation may be more than “transitory.”
The minutes also showed that the central bank may start to discuss when to start rolling back asset purchases, especially as the country continues to make headway against Covid-19.
The European Central Bank could decide to scale back its emergency bond-buying program as early as next month.
Crude oil prices declined sharply on Wednesday, weighed down by an increase in U.S. crude stockpiles, and on worries about outlook for energy demand from Asian countries. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended down $2.13 or 3.3 percent at $63.36 a barrel.
Closer to home, China will see May numbers for its one-year and five-year loan prime rates later today; in April, they were at 3.85 percent and 4.65 percent, respectively.
Market Analysis
China Bourse Tipped To Give Up Support At 3,500 Points
2021-05-20 01:00:07
