Higher Open Called For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in consecutive trading days, dropping more than 60 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,810-point plateau although it may find traction on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with technology shares expected to lead the way. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets also figure to move to the upside.

The SCI finished sharply lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and energy companies.

For the day, the index slumped 44.58 points or 1.16 percent to finish at 3,813.56 after trading between 3,794.88 and 3,868.39. The Shenzhen Composite Index stumbled 24.16 points or 1.41 percent to end at 2,380.30.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China tumbled 1.72 percent, while Agricultural Bank of China lost 0.56 percent, China Merchants Bank retreated 1.24 percent, Bank of Communications sank 0.82 percent, China Life Insurance plunged 2.57 percent, Jiangxi Copper rallied 2.41 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) fell 0.38 percent, Yankuang Energy and China Shenhua Energy both dropped 1.00 percent, PetroChina rose 0.22 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) slumped 1.03 percent, Huaneng Power shed 0.53 percent, Gemdale surrendered 2.99 percent, Poly Developments skidded 1.15 percent and China Vanke tanked 2.08 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the major averages opened on opposite sides of the line and finished the same way.

The Dow slipped 24.58 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 45,271.23, while the NASDAQ rallied 218.10 points or 1.02 percent to end at 21,497.73 and the S&P 500 added 32.72 points or 0.51 percent to close at 6,448.26.

The notable rebound by the NASDAQ followed a surge by shares of Alphabet (GOOGL), which rallied after a federal judge ruled the company will avoid the most severe consequences in a landmark antitrust case.

The strength on Wall Street also came after the Labor Department released a report showing job openings in the U.S. fell to their lowest level in 10 months in July.

While the data provides further signs of softening labor market conditions, the report has also increased confidence that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates later this month.

Crude oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday amid increasing concerns of oversupply due to reported plans by OPEC to boost output at its upcoming meeting on Sunday. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was down $1.65 or 2.52 percent at $63.94 per barrel.