The China stock market turned lower again on Thursday, one day after snapping the five-day losing streak in which it had stumbled almost 80 points or 2.7 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 2,950-point plateau although it may see renewed support on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to slightly higher ahead of key inflation data later today. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the resource stocks and properties were mitigated by support from the financial sector.
For the day, the index dropped 26.67 points or 0.90 percent to finish at 2,945.85 after trading between 2,944.90 and 2,963.06. The Shenzhen Composite Index stumbled 27.44 points or 1.67 percent to end at 1,614.03.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rallied 1.24 percent, while Bank of China strengthened 1.32 percent, China Construction Bank climbed 1.23 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.59 percent, Bank of Communications jumped 1.50 percent, China Life Insurance perked 0.19 percent, Jiangxi Copper tanked 2.88 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) plunged 2.65 percent, Yankuang Energy added 0.49 percent, PetroChina dipped 0.10 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) was up 0.16 percent, Huaneng Power eased 0.11 percent, China Shenhua Energy shed 0.57 percent, Poly Developments plummeted 2.92 percent, China Vanke slumped 2.64 percent and Gemdale was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line all day Thursday before finally settling with mild gains.
The Dow added 36.26 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 39,164.06, while the NASDAQ gained 53.53 points or 0.30 percent to close at 17,858.68 and the S&P 500 rose 4.97 points or 0.09 percent to end at 5,482.87.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key inflation data later today.
The Commerce Department is due to release its report on personal income and spending in May, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve; the report could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.
In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods unexpectedly crept higher last month.
Oil futures settled higher Thursday on hopes about the outlook for demand, and on concerns about possible supply disruptions due to tensions in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August added $0.84 at $81.74 a barrel.