The China stock market moved higher again on Thursday, one day after snapping the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 35 points or 1.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 2,975-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak, with continued selling pressure expected among technology and semiconductor stocks. The European and U.S. markets were mostly down and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the resource and energy stocks, while the financials and properties were mixed.
For the day, the index gained 14.28 points or 0.48 percent to finish at 2,977.13 after trading between 2,937.90 and 2,978.09. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 5.30 points or 0.33 percent to end at 1,604.59.
Among the actives, China Construction Bank collected 0.53 percent, while China Merchants Bank was up 0.06 percent, Bank of Communications fell 0.27 percent, China Life Insurance rose 0.40 percent, Jiangxi Copper shed 0.43 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) perked 0.27 percent, Yankuang Energy added 0.39 percent, PetroChina climbed 1.09 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) rallied 1.40 percent, Huaneng Power jumped 1.98 percent, China Shenhua Energy improved 0.79 percent, Poly Developments strengthened 1.39 percent, China Vanke gained 0.28 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China and Gemdale were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is poor as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but quickly headed south and stayed deep in the red for the remainder of the session.
The Dow plunged 533.06 points or 1.29 percent to finish at 40,665.02, while the NASDAQ lost 125.70 points or 0.70 percent to end at 17,871.22 and the S&P 500 sank 43.68 points or 0.78 percent to close at 5,544.59.
The weakness on Wall Street partly reflected concerns about the near-term outlook for the markets following Wednesday\'s tech sell-off following reports that the Biden\'s administration is considering tougher trade rules against companies in its chip crackdown on China.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits climbed more than expected last week.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that growth by regional manufacturing was more widespread in July. Also, the Conference Board noted a modest decrease by its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators in June.
Oil futures eased slightly on Thursday concerns about the outlook for oil demand from China, while the dollar\'s recovery weighed as well on prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended down $0.03 at $82.82 a barrel.