The China stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, sinking almost 95 points or 3 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,200-point plateau and it's due for support on Friday.
The global forecast is murky, with support from technology stocks likely offset by concern over the ongoing U.S. debt ceiling situation. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SCI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the resource stocks and mixed performances from the financial shares and properties.
For the day, the index fell 3.49 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 3,201.26 after trading between 3,168.57 and 3,207.02. The Shenzhen Composite Index slid 3.35 points or 0.17 percent to end at 2,006.13.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.42 percent, while China Construction Bank retreated 1.43 percent, China Merchants Bank declined 1.55 percent, Bank of Communications collected 0.89 percent, China Life Insurance perked 0.13 percent, Jiangxi Copper dropped 0.87 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) stumbled 1.52 percent, Yankuang Energy tanked 2.09 percent, PetroChina sank 0.83 percent, Huaneng Power rallied 2.73 percent, China Shenhua Energy lost 0.46 percent, Gemdale rose 0.27 percent, Poly Developments fell 0.39 percent, China Vanke improved 0.57 percent, China Fortune Land skidded 0.90 percent and Bank of China and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as the major averages opened mixed on Thursday and finished the same way.
The Dow shed 35.27 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 32,764.65, while the NASDAQ surged 213.93 points or 1.71 percent to end at 12,698.09 and the S&P 500 gained 36/04 points or 0.88 percent to close at 4,151.28.
The rebound on Wall Street reflected strong earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA), which reported better than expected results and forecasting Q2 revenue well above estimates - resulting in a surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Traders also kept an eye on any developments in the U.S. debt ceiling negotiations amid lingering concerns about a potential default. Reflecting the default concerns, Fitch Ratings placed the United States "AAA" credit on "rating watch negative," signaling downside risks to U.S. creditworthiness.
In economic news, a revision from the Commerce Department showed economic growth in the U.S. slowed less than estimated in the first quarter of 2023. Also, the Labor Department showed a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.
Crude oil prices fell sharply Thursday, snapping a three-day winning streak, after Russia's Deputy Prime Minister said Russia won't agree on any additional cut in crude production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended down $2.51 or 3.4 percent at $71.83 a barrel.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com