The China stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day losing streak in which it had retreated almost 60 points or 2.7 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,525-point plateau and it may take further damage on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on concerns over the spread of the coronavirus variant. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares and resource stocks, while the properties came in mixed.
For the day, the index lost 28.21 points or 0.79 percent to finish at 3,525.50 after trading between 3,521.06 and 3,558.68. The Shenzhen Composite Index sank 11.79 points or 0.48 percent to end at 2,435.21.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China skidded 1.01 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.32 percent, China Construction Bank retreated 1.50 percent, China Merchants Bank plummeted 5.76 percent, Bank of Communications sank 0.82 percent, China Life Insurance tanked 2.40 percent, Jiangxi Copper tumbled 2.22 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) fell 0.56 percent, Yanzhou Coal plunged 7.04 percent, PetroChina surrendered 2.54 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) declined 1.64 percent, China Shenhua Energy dropped 0.85 percent, Gemdale lost 0.93 percent, Poly Developments slid 0.41 percent, China Vanke rose 0.04 percent and China Fortune Land surged 6.30 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks opened sharply lower on Thursday, made back some ground as the day progressed but still ended firmly in the red.
The Dow plunged 259.86 points or 0.75 percent to finish at 34,421.93, while the NASDAQ dropped 105.28 points or 0.72 percent to end at 14,559.79 and the S&P 500 sank 37.31 points or 0.86 percent to close at 4,320.82.
Concerns about the outlook for the global economy contributed to the early sell-off on Wall Street, while news that Japan has declared a new state of emergency for Tokyo ahead of the Olympic Games added to worries about the impact of new coronavirus variants.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing initial jobless claims unexpectedly inched higher last week.
Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday after data showed a bigger than expected decline in crude inventories in the U.S. last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended up by $0.74 or 1 percent at $72.94 a barrel.
Closer to home, China is on Friday scheduled to release June figures for consumer and producer prices. Inflation is called flat on month after slipping 0.2 percent in May; it’s expected to rise 1.3 percent on year – steady from the previous reading. Producer prices are seen higher by an annual 8.8 percent, slowing from 9.0 percent in the previous month.
Market Analysis
China Stock Market May See Continued Consolidation
2021-07-09 01:00:19
