The China stock market on Wednesday halted the three-day wining streak in which it had picked up almost 140 points or 4.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index remains just above the 2,900-point plateau although it's tipped to recover on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing concerns of a trade war. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished barely lower on Wednesday following mixed performances from the financial shares and property stocks.
For the day, the index eased 1.91 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 2,903.65 after trading between 2,894.04 and 2,912.31. The Shenzhen Composite Index dipped 1.12 points or 0.07 percent to end at 1,624.72.
Among the actives, Bank of China shed 0.28 percent, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.18 percent, China Construction Bank eased 0.14 percent, China Merchants Bank jumped 1.69 percent, China Life lost 0.42 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) added 0.31 percent, PetroChina gained 0.13 percent, Shina Shenhua Energy skidded 0.97 percent, Gemdale was up 0.11 percent, China Vanke fell 0.82 percent and Poly Real Estate gathered 0.58 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as stocks showed a strong move to the upside on Wednesday after reports that President Donald Trump secured trade concessions from Europe.
The Dow rose 172.16 points or 0.68 percent to 25,414.10, while the NASDAQ jumped 91.47 points or 1.17 percent to 7,932.24 and the S&P 500 advanced 25.67 points or 0.91 percent to 2,846.07.
The strength on Wall Street followed reports that the European Union delegation meeting with Trump agreed to consider changes in its trade policies in an effort to ease relations with the U.S.
The report offset earlier negative sentiment from disappointing guidance from General Motors (GM) and Boeing (BA).
In economic news, the Commerce Department reported showing a bigger than expected pullback in new home sales in June.
Crude oil prices rose Wednesday, extending Tuesday's gains following a larger than expected decline in U.S. crude inventories last week. Crude oil futures for September delivery ended at $69.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gaining $0.78 or 1.13 percent.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com