China Stock Market Tipped To Extend Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished lower in four straight sessions, sinking almost 50 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,275-point plateau and it's expected to open in the red again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation on persistent concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SCI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and resource companies.

For the day, the index dipped 7.15 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 3,276.09 after trading between 3,260.00 and 3,289.06. The Shenzhen Composite Index eased 1.58 points or 0.07 percent to end at 2,113.33.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.45 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.60 percent, China Construction Bank lost 0.51 percent, China Merchants Bank skidded 1.17 percent, Bank of Communications sank 0.59 percent, China Life Insurance eased 0.11 percent, Jiangxi Copper advanced 0.98 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) retreated 1.06 percent, Yankuang Energy dropped 0.93 percent, Huaneng Power improved 0.71 percent, China Shenhua Energy rose 0.25 percent, Gemdale declined 1.65 percent, Poly Developments slumped 1.10 percent, China Vanke was up 0.19 percent, Beijing Capital stumbled 1.39 percent and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) and PetroChina were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday and hugged the line before plummeting in afternoon trade, finishing near session lows.

The Dow plunged 543.54 points or 1.66 percent to finish at 32,254.86, while the NASDAQ tumbled 237.65 points or 2.05 percent to close at 11,338.35 and the S&P 500 sank 73.69 points or 1.85 percent to end at 3,918.32.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street followed the Labor Department report the showed initial jobless claims rose by more than expected last week, although the data helped ease concerns about labor market tightness.

Buying interest tumbled as the day progressed as traders looked ahead to the release of the Labor Department's more closely watched monthly jobs report later today. The report could have a significant effect on the pace of interest rate hikes as determined by the FOMC.

Crude oil prices retreated on Thursday, extending losses to a third straight day amid concerns that aggressive policy tightening by the Federal Reserve could slow global economic growth and result in a drop in energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended lower by $0.94 or 1.2 percent at $75.72 a barrel.