The China stock market has moved lower in four straight sessions, tumbling almost 95 points or 3.2 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 2,885-point plateau and it\'s likely to open in the red again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed ahead of more earnings news and economic data. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian bourses figure to track that lead.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the oil and energy companies were mitigated by support from the properties and a mixed picture from the financial sector.
For the day, the index declined 15.21 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 2,886.74 after trading between 2,872.85 and 2,897.77. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.12 points or 0.07 percent to end at 1,547.41.
Among the actives, Bank of China shed 0.63 percent, while China Construction Bank perked 0.13 percent, China Merchants Bank climbed 1.05 percent, Bank of Communications retreated 1.30 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.59 percent, Jiangxi Copper tanked 2.01 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) plunged 2.60 percent, Yankuang Energy tumbled 2.00 percent, PetroChina plummeted 4.18 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) eased 0.15 percent, Huaneng Power dipped 0.24 percent, China Shenhua Energy declined 1.22 percent, Gemdale rose 0.34 percent, Poly Developments advanced 0.92 percent, China Vanke improved 0.75 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened mixed, spent most of the day in positive territory before a late slump saw some of them end in the end.
The Dow gained 81.20 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 39,935.07, while the NASDAQ tumbled 160.69 points or 0.93 percent to end at 17,181.72 and the S&P 500 sank 27.91 points or 0.51 percent to close at 5,399.22.
Stocks gained in strength early in the session thanks to data showing a sharper than expected acceleration in U.S. economic growth in the second quarter.
The Commerce Department said the GDP growth reflected increases in consumer spending, private inventory investment, and nonresidential fixed investment - while the personal consumption expenditures price index slowed to 2.6 percent.
Also, the Commerce Department said durable goods orders plummeted in June, while the Labor Department noted a slowdown in initial jobless claims last week.
Oil climbed higher on Thursday, extending recent gains after data showed a sharper than expected acceleration in U.S. GDP growth in Q2. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September rose $0.69 at $78.28 a barrel.