Soft Start Anticipated For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market turned lower again on Wednesday, one day after ending the two-day slide in which it had slumped almost 35 points or 1.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just shy of the 3,060-point plateau and it's expected to open in the red again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on geopolitical concerns and the dimming outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were sharply lower and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the properties and mixed performances from the financials and resource companies.

For the day, the index stumbled 24.79 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 3,058.71 after trading between 3,057.06 and 3,076.58. The Shenzhen Composite Index retreated 28.08 points or 1.49 percent to end at 1,856.12.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 0.20 percent, while Bank of China climbed 1.01 percent, China Construction Bank collected 0.30 percent, China Merchants Bank eased 0.09 percent, Bank of Communications fell 0.34 percent, China Life Insurance shed 0.58 percent, Jiangxi Copper tanked 2.16 percent, Yankuang Energy slid 0.29 percent, PetroChina added 0.63 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) was down 0.17 percent, Huaneng Power tumbled 2.23 percent, China Shenhua Energy perked 0.03 percent, Gemdale slumped 2.17 percent, Poly Developments lost 0.33 percent, China Vanke retreated 2.25 percent and Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and remained in the red throughout the day.

The Dow tumbled 332.57 points or 0.98 percent to finish at 33,665.08, while the NASDAQ dropped 219.44 points or 1.39 percent to close at 13,314.30 and the S&P 500 sank 58.60 points or 1.34 percent to end at 4,314.60.

The weakness on Wall Street came amid rising tensions in the Middle East after a deadly missile attack on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza killed several hundred people.

Hamas tried to attribute the blast to an Israeli airstrike, but the Israeli military said with some evidence it was not involved and the explosion was caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket.

Higher bond yields added to the negative sentiment raising concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department noted a substantial rebound in new residential construction in the U.S. in September.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday on rising concerns over supplies as geopolitical concerns escalated after the large explosion at the Gaza hospital. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November jumped $1.66 or 1.9 percent at $88.32 a barrel.