China Bourse May Halt Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions, falling more than 15 point or 0.4 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,500-point plateau although it may stop the bleeding on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on easing inflation concerns. 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 weakness from the property and resource sectors and mixed performances from the financial shares and energy companies.

For the day, the index eased 1.22 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 3,503.78 after trading between 3,489.14 and 3,511.81. The Shenzhen Composite Index perked 2.18 points or 0.10 percent to end at 2,120.85.

Among the actives, Bank of China perked 0.18 percent, while Agricultural Bank of China declined 0.63 percent, China Merchants Bank dipped 0.24 percent, Bank of Communications slumped 0.74 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 0.50 percent, Jiangxi Copper dropped 0.85 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) sank 0.56 percent, Yankuang Energy perked 0.16 percent, PetroChina added 0.56 percent, Huaneng Power slipped 0.42 percent, China Shenhua Energy lost 0.51 percent, Gemdale skidded 1.03 percent, Poly Developments fell 0.37 percent, China Vanke shed 0.61 percent and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, dipped midday but then bounced higher heading into the close.

The Dow jumped 231.49 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 44,254.78, while the NASDAQ added 52.69 points or 0.25 percent to close at a fresh record high of 20,730.49 and the S&P 500 rose 19.94 points or 0.32 percent to end at 6,263.70.

Stocks came under pressure in late morning trade following reports President Donald Trump discussed the possibility of firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during a meeting with House Republicans.

However, the major averages moved back to the upside after Trump said he's "not planning" on firing Powell.

The choppy trading on Wall Street also followed a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. unexpectedly came in flat in June. While the data helped ease inflation concerns, the Fed is still seen as likely to leave interest rates unchanged until September at the earliest.

Crude oil prices dropped for the third straight day on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration said gasoline inventories increased by 3.4 million barrels last week and are slightly above the five-year average for this time of year. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery fell $0.14 to settle at $65.38 per barrel.