The China stock market has finished lower in two of three trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had collected almost 50 points or 1.6 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,075-point plateau although it figures to bounce higher again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.
The SCI finished slightly lower on Thursday as losses from the energy and insurance companies were tempered by support from the financial shares and properties.
For the day, the index eased 2.57 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 3,077.11 after trading between 3,069.27 and 3,090.05. The Shenzhen Composite Index dipped 2.30 points or 0.13 percent to end at 1,804.31.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China increased 0.38 percent, while Bank of China gained 0.46 percent, China Construction Bank collected 0.30 percent, China Merchants Bank climbed 1.19 percent, Bank of Communications was up 0.16 percent, China Life Insurance sank 0.45 percent, Jiangxi Copper improved 0.40 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) surged 3.60 percent, Yankuang Energy eased 0.13 percent, PetroChina gathered 0.33 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) perked 0.16 percent, Huaneng Power slumped 1.32 percent, China Shenhua Energy added 0.48 percent, Gemdale rallied 1.24 percent, Poly Developments jumped 1.83 percent and China Vanke rose 0.43 percent.
The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened modestly higher on Thursday and remained in the green throughout the session, ending at fresh record closing highs.
The Dow rallied 269.24 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 39,781.37, while the NASDAQ added 32.43 points or 0.20 percent to close at 16,401.84 and the S&P 500 gained 16.91 points or 0.32 percent to end at 5,241.53.
The early strength on Wall Street came as stocks continued to benefit from positive reaction to Wednesday\'s monetary policy announcement by the Federal Reserve.
While the Fed left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected, the central bank also maintained its forecast for three interest rate cuts this year.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department noted a slight drop by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales unexpectedly soared in February.
Crude oil futures settled lower on Thursday, weighed down by a stronger dollar and weak gasoline demand in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May dipped $0.20 at $81.07 a barrel.