The China stock market headed south again on Thursday, one session after ending the two-day losing streak in which it had fallen almost 20 points or 0.6 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,520-point plateau and it’s expected to remain in that neighborhood again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support expected from oil and technology companies. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the oil companies, financial shares and property stocks were mitigated by support from the energy producers.
For the day, the index shed 16.66 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 3,520.17 after trading between 3,513.11 and 3,537.98. The Shenzhen Composite Index sank 6.15 points or 0.65 percent to end at 2,460.86.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dipped 0.22 percent, while Bank of China fell 0.33 percent, China Merchants Bank dropped 0.83 percent, Bank of Communications shed 0.43 percent, China Life Insurance lost 0.61 percent, Jiangxi Copper added 0.48 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) slid 0.57 percent, Yanzhou Coal rallied 2.13 percent, PetroChina retreated 1.24 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) sank 0.73 percent, Huaneng Power jumped 1.54 percent, China Shenhua Energy gained 0.37 percent, Gemdale plummeted 4.20 percent, Poly Developments tanked 2.23 percent, China Vanke tumbled 1.90 percent, China Fortune Land plunged 2.27 percent and China Construction Bank was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the Dow opened in the red Thursday and remained there throughout the session, while the NASDAQ and S&P shrugged off some early weakness to finish at fresh record closing highs.
The Dow shed 60.10 points or 0.17 percent to finish hat 35,870.95, while the NASDAQ climbed 72.14 points or 0.45 percent to close at 15,993.71 and the S&P 500 rose 15.87 points or 0.34 percent to end at 4,704.54.
The mixed performance followed mixed earnings news from some big-name companies. Retail stocks saw significant strength following upbeat results from companies like Macy’s (M), BJ’s Wholesale (BJ) and Kohl’s (KSS).
Meanwhile, a steep drop by Cisco Systems (CSCO) weighed on the Dow after the company reported better than expected fiscal first quarter earnings but provided disappointing guidance.
In economic news, Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits were nearly unchanged, down by 1,000 from last week. Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed jump in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in November.
Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday, bouncing back after early weakness, despite uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December gained $0.65 or 0.8 percent at $79.01 a barrel.
Market Analysis
Mild Upside Called For China Stock Market
2021-11-19 01:03:08
