Renewed Support Tipped For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Thursday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 75 points or 2.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,270-point plateau although it's expected to rebound again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with gains from the technology and property stocks likely capped by weakness from the energy companies. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

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

For the day, the index dropped 32.72 points or 0.99 percent to finish at the daily low of 3,272.00 after peaking at 3,300.53. The Shenzhen Composite Index sank 16.65 points or 0.75 percent to end at 2,193.81.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China retreated 1.13 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.65 percent, China Construction Bank declined 1.24 percent, China Merchants Bank skidded 1.09 percent, Bank of Communications dipped 0.22 percent, China Life Insurance tanked 2.52 percent, Jiangxi Copper sank 0.81 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) stumbled 1.74 percent, Yankuang Energy plummeted 4.40 percent, PetroChina dropped 0.95 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) fell 0.24 percent, Huaneng Power plunged 3.17 percent, China Shenhua Energy cratered 5.58 percent, Gemdale surrendered 2.82 percent, Poly Developments slumped 3.49 percent, China Vanke tumbled 2.65 percent, Beijing Capital Development lost 0.90 percent and China Fortune Land was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages shook off early weakness on Thursday, moving solidly into the green as the day progressed.

The Dow jumped 162.06 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 32,036.90, while the NASDAQ spiked 161.96 points or 1.36 percent to end at 12,059.61 and the S&P 500 gained 39.05 points or 0.99 percent to close at 3,998.95.

The volatility on Wall Street came as traders expressed uncertainty about the outlook for the markets following the recent upward move. The NASDAQ benefitted from a significant advance by shares of Tesla (TSLA), which reported second quarter earnings that beat expectations.

The latest U.S. economic data may have also helped ease concerns about the outlook for interest rates, with the Labor Department noting that initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose to an eight-month high last week.

A separate report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed regional manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted at a faster rate in July. The Conference Board also released a report showing its index of leading economic indicators decreased for the fourth straight month in June.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Thursday, extending losses from the previous session amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand in the near term due to slowing economic growth and rising interest rates. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended lower by $3.53 or 3.5 percent at $96.35 a barrel.