China Stock Market Expected To Open In The Red On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market halted the three-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than 80 points or 2.6 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,280-point plateau although it's predicted to open under pressure again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on concerns about the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished barely higher following mixed performances from the properties and weakness from the financials and oil companies.

For the day, the index rose 2.83 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 3,284.29 after trading between 3,266.48 and 3,297.02. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 20.03 points or 0.93 percent to end at 2,175.59.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China tanked 2.00 percent, while Bank of China slumped 1.20 percent, China Construction Bank retreated 1.39 percent, China Merchants Bank plunged 3.56 percent, Bank of Communications weakened 1.29 percent, China Life Insurance declined 1.47 percent, Jiangxi Copper sank 0.71 percent, Aluminum Corporation of China (Chalco) fell 0.44 percent, Yankuang Energy tumbled 2.92 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) slid 0.49 percent, Huaneng Power dropped 0.85 percent, PetroChina shed 0.59 percent, China Shenhua Energy surrendered 1.21 percent, Gemdale added 0.31 percent, Poly Developments rallied 2.41 percent, China Vanke lost 0.37 percent, China Fortune Land advanced 0.97 percent, Beijing Capital Development climbed 1.08 percent and China Minsheng Bank eased 0.27 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday, flirted with the unchanged line before finally ending with modest losses.

The Dow tumbled 208.54 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 30,772.79, while the NASDAQ eased 17.15 points or 0.15 percent to end at 11,247.58 and the S&P 500 fell 17.02 points or 0.45 percent to close at 3,801.78.

The early weakness on Wall Street came as a Labor Department report showing a bigger than expected increase in U.S. consumer prices added to concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The bigger than expected jump in inflation has solidified expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by 75 basis points later this month and increases the likelihood of another 75-basis point rate hike in September.

Later in the day, the Fed released its Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions in each of the twelve Fed districts, which noted U.S. economic activity has expanded at a modest pace since mid-May.

Crude oil prices shrugged off a surge in U.S. inflation and climbed higher on Wednesday, rebounding smartly after suffering a sharp loss in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $0.46 at $96.30 a barrel.

Closer to home, China will see June numbers for foreign direct investment later today; in May, FDI was up 17.3 percent on year.