Steady Start Eyed For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in two straight sessions, slipping more than 25 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 4,080-point plateau although it may find traction on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on easing oil prices and support from technology shares. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Friday as losses from the properties and financials were mitigated by support from the resource stocks.

For the day, the index lost 13.35 points of 0.33 percent to finish at 4,079.90 after trading between 4,061.15 and 4,092.61. The Shenzhen Composite Index sank 16.57 points or 0.60 percent to end at 2,743.05.

Among the actives, Bank of China dipped 0.17 percent, while Agricultural Bank of China perked 0.14 percent, China Merchants Bank skidded 1.08 percent, Bank of Communications and Huaneng Power both eased 0.14 percent, China Life Insurance fell 0.27 percent, Jiangxi Copper added 0.29 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) jumped 1.43 percent, Yankuang Energy rose 0.24 percent, PetroChina advanced 0.93 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) tanked 3.04 percent, China Shenhua Energy added 0.45 percent, Gemdale declined 1.48 percent, Poly Developments tumbled 2.21 percent, China Vanke retreated 1.57 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed as the Dow opened lower and finished the same way, while the NASDAQ and S&P began in the green and picked up steam as the day progressed.

The Dow shed 79.59 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 49,230.71, while the NASDAQ surged 398.10 points or 1.63 percent to end at 24,836.60 and the S&P 500 gained 56.68 points or 0.80 percent to close at 7,165.08.

For the week, the Dow slipped 0.4 percent, the NASDAQ jumped 1.5 percent and the S&P added 0.6 percent.

The rebound by the broader markets came amid a spike by shares of Intel (INTC) after the chipmaker reported much better than expected first quarter earnings and forecast Q2 revenues above estimates.

Buying interest was also generated in reaction to a pullback by the price of crude oil, which has soared over the past few sessions. President Donald Trump's announcement of a three-week extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has also weighed on crude oil prices.

Crude oil prices slumped on Friday as the prospects of a peace deal between U.S. and Iran gather steam, lowering Middle East tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was down $1.68 or 1.75 percent at $94.17 per barrel.

Closer to home, China will release March numbers for industrial profits later this morning; in February, profits were up 15.2 percent on year.