China Shares May Be Stuck In Neutral On Friday

The China stock market has tracked lower in two straight sessions, slumping more than 25 points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,365-point plateau and it’s expected to see little movement again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on pessimism over corporate earnings and for energy demand. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished slightly lower on Thursday as losses from the financials and property stocks were mitigated by support from the oil companies.

For the day, the index eased 3.10 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 3,367.03 after trading between 3,344.02 and 3,371.37. The Shenzhen Composite Index fell 8.56 points or 0.40 percent to end at 2,117.94.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.42 percent, while Bank of China fell 0.28 percent, China Construction Bank lost 0.32 percent, China Merchants Bank retreated 1.44 percent, Bank of Communications eased 0.18 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.68 percent, Jiangxi Copper sank 0.80 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) dropped 0.76 percent, Yankuang Energy perked 0.29 percent, PetroChina jumped 1.81 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) advanced 0.96 percent, Huaneng Power stumbled 1.66 percent, China Shenhua Energy was down 0.14 percent, Poly Developments slumped 0.76 percent, China Vanke slid 0.32 percent, China Fortune Land weakened 0.86 percent and Gemdale was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and remained in the red throughout the session.

The Dow stumbled 110.39 points or 0.33 percent to finish at 33,786.62, while the NASDAQ lost 97.67 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 12,059.56 and the S&P 500 fell 24.73 points or 0.60 percent to end at 4,129.79.

The weakness on Wall Street reflected disappointment in the latest earnings news from several big-name companies including Tesla (TSLA), AT&T (T) and America Express (AXP).

Negative sentiment was also generated by disappointing U.S. economic data, including a report from the Philadelphia Federal reserve showing regional manufacturing activity contracted at an accelerated rate in April.

Crude oil prices fell sharply Thursday, extending losses from the previous session amid rising concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May sank $1.87 or 2.4 percent at $77.29 a barrel on the expiration day, the lowest since March 31.