The China stock market turned lower again on Thursday, one session after it had ended the two-day slide in which it had retreated almost 20 points or 0.6 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,370-point plateau and it may take further damage on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft thanks to disappointing earnings news and a drop in crude oil prices. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat - and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the property stocks were mitigated by support from the financials and oil companies.
For the day, the index lost 11.62 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 3,370.17 after trading between 3,359.63 and 3,378.74. The Shenzhen Composite Index shed 0.8 percent to end at 1,983.72.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.96 percent, while Bank of China added 0.48 percent, Agricultural Bank of China gained 0.79 percent, Vanke skidded 1.44 percent, Gemdale eased 0.18 percent, PetroChina gathered 0.24 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) advanced 0.34 percent, China Life perked 0.45 percent and Ping An jumped 1.03 percent.
The lead from Wall Street offers little guidance as stocks moved back and forth across the unchanged line Thursday before ending mixed.
The Dow added 5.44 points or 0.02 percent to 23,163.04, while the NASDAQ fell 19.15 points or 0.29 percent at 6,605.07 and the S&P 500 was up 0.84 points or 0.03 percent to 2,562.10.
The early weakness was due to profit taking and soft earnings news from eBay (EBAY) and Philip Morris (PM).
In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell more than expected in the week ended October 14.
Also, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said regional manufacturing activity unexpectedly grew at a faster rate in October, while the Conference Board noted an unexpected decrease by its leading of leading economic indicators in September.
Crude oil futures fell Thursday despite a prediction from OPEC's top man that oil demand will surge in the coming years. WTI light sweet crude oil was down 75 cents or 1.4 percent to $51.29/bbl.
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