The China stock market has finished lower in two straight sessions, shedding almost 30 points or 1 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,085-point plateau although it\'s likely to find traction on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mostly higher and the Asian bourses are likely to follow that lead.
The SCI finished slightly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and resource companies.
For the day, the index sank 4.86 points or 0.16 percent to finish at the daily low of 3,086.81 after peaking at 3,107.60. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 3.53 points or 0.20 percent to end at 1,729.65.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China sank 0.73 percent, while Bank of China fell 0.22 percent, China Construction Bank and Bank of Communications both shed 0.42 percent, China Merchants Bank eased 0.17 percent, China Life Insurance slid 0.32 percent, Jiangxi Copper dipped 0.16 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) surrendered 2.85 percent, Yankuang Energy added 0.36 percent, PetroChina plunged 3.34 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) retreated 1.38 percent, Huaneng Power gained 0.56 percent, China Shenhua Energy tumbled 2.58 percent, Gemdale slumped 2.76 percent, China Vanke plummeted 3.85 percent and Poly Developments was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is fairly positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday, slumped midday but rallied to finish mixed.
The Dow surged 574.82 points or 1.51 percent to finish at 38,686.32, while the NASDAQ dipped 2.08 points or 0.01 percent to close at 16,735.02 and the S&P 500 gained 42.03 points or 0.80 percent to end at 5,277.51.
For the week, the S&P 500 fell 0.5 percent and the Dow and the NASDAQ slumped by 1.0 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively - although the major averages all posted strong gains for the month of May.
The mostly higher close on Wall Street followed the release of a highly anticipated Commerce Department data showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with estimates in April, while core consumer prices edged up slightly less than expected.
The readings on inflation, which are said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve, generated optimism that investors may see a rate cut in the coming months.
Oil prices fell on Friday, extending losses to a third straight day amid concerns about the outlook for demand - although optimism over the extension of OPEC production cuts limited the downside. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for July slipped $0.92 at $76.99 a barrel.