Lower Open Expected For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has tracked lower in four straight sessions, slipping more than 60 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 4,100-point plateau and it's got another soft lead for Monday's trade.

The global forecast is soft amidst ambiguity over the outlook for interest rates and ongoing geopolitical issues. The European and U.S. markets were slightly lower and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and oil companies.

For the day, the index fell 10.69 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 4,101.91 after trading between 4,091.81 and 4,140.23. The Shenzhen Composite Index dipped 3.37 points or 0.13 percent to end at 2,686.56.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 0.91 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.55 percent, Agricultural Bank of China slumped 1.64 percent, China Merchants Bank dropped 0.97 percent, Bank of Communications sank 0.87 percent, China Life Insurance surrendered 2.68 percent, Jiangxi Copper soared 3.40 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) plunged 3.49 percent, Yankuang Energy declined 1.44 percent, PetroChina contracted 1.71 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) tumbled 1.85 percent, Huaneng Power improved 0.81 percent, China Shenhua Energy retreated 1.35 percent, Gemdale cratered 2.54 percent, Poly Developments tanked 2.50 percent and China Vanke stumbled 2.47 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened higher on Friday but quickly faded, hugging both sides of the line before ending slightly lower.

The Dow shed 83.07 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 49,359.33, while the NASDAQ slipped 14.61 points or 0.06 percent to close at 23,515.39 and the S&P 500 fell 4.46 points or 0.06 percent to end at 6,940.01. For the week, the NASDAQ slid 0.7 percent, the S&P dipped 0.4 percent and the Dow eased 0.03 percent.

The choppy trading on Wall Street followed remarks from President Donald Trump suggesting National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett may not be his choice to become the next Federal Reserve chair.

Hassett had been seen as the frontrunner to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term expires in May, but predictions now show former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh has surged into the lead following Trump's remarks - causing some uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates.

Trump's threats to take control of Greenland continue to attract attention, with the president suggesting he may impose tariffs on countries that don't go along with his plans for the territory.

Crude oil moved higher on Friday as traders weighed the continuing risks after reports that the U.S. is consolidating its forces in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was up $0.40 or 0.68 percent at $59.59 per barrel.