China Shares Likely To Halt Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, slumping almost 70 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,090-point plateau although it's due for support on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with technology shares expected to lead the way higher. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the property stocks and financial shares, while the resource companies were mixed.

For the day, the index sank 27.52 points or 0.88 percent to finish at 3,088.87 after trading between 3,087.79 and 3,130.42. The Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 19.26 points or 1.10 percent to end at 1,734.80.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped 0.91 percent, while Bank of China sank 0.88 percent, China Construction Bank shed 0.56 percent, China Merchants Bank tumbled 2.14 percent, Bank of Communications lost 0.57 percent, China Life Insurance tanked 2.44 percent, Jiangxi Copper added 0.59 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) retreated 1.30 percent, Yankuang Energy dipped 0.28 percent, PetroChina gained 0.61 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) improved 0.78 percent, Huaneng Power spiked 2.29 percent, China Shenhua Energy stumbled 2.44 percent, Gemdale plummeted 7.52 percent, Poly Developments slumped 2.66 percent and China Vanke plunged 5.96 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat but inconsistent as the major averages opened higher on Friday; the S&P and NASDAQ remained firmly higher all day, while the Dow struggled to stay above water.

The Dow rose 4.33 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 39,069.59, while the NASDAQ jumped 184.76 points or 1.10 percent to close at a record high of 16,920.79 and the S&P 500 gained 36.88 points or 0.70 percent to end at 5,304.72.

For the week, the NASDAQ jumped 1.4 percent, the S&P 500 was nearly unchanged and the Dow tumbled 2.3 percent.

The rebound on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following the downturn seen on Thursday, which saw the Dow post its worst daily drop since March 2023.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted an unexpected increase in durable goods orders in April. Also, the University of Michigan said in a report that consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated less than estimated in May.

Crude oil prices moved higher Friday, snapping a four-day losing streak despite concerns about the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for July ended higher by $0.85 at $77.72 a barrel; for the week, WTI crude futures slumped 3 percent.

Closer to home, China will see April figures for industrial profits later this morning; in March, profits were up 4.3 percent on year.