China Shares Waiting On GDP Data

(RTTNews) - The China stock market turned lower again on Thursday, one day after halting the three-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than 80 points or 2.6 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,280-point plateau and it figures to open flat on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on continuing concerns over inflation, recession and interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The SCI finished slightly lower on Thursday following losses from the financials, properties, resource stocks and energy producers.

For the day, the index eased 2.55 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 3,281.74 after trading between 3,261.49 and 3,299.25. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 17.11 points or 0.79 percent to end at 2,192.70.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China skidded 1.13 percent, while Bank of China tumbled 1.82 percent, China Construction Bank declined 1.59 percent, China Merchants Bank plunged 3.75 percent, Bank of Communications retreated 1.53 percent, China Life Insurance slumped 1.08 percent, Jiangxi Copper fell 0.36 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) dropped 0.88 percent, Yankuang Energy advanced 0.77 percent, PetroChina lost 0.39 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dipped 0.25 percent, Huaneng Power plummeted 9.59 percent, China Shenhua Energy added 0.68 percent, Gemdale cratered 5.95 percent, Poly Developments was up 0.12 percent, China Vanke crashed 3.01 percent, China Fortune Land weakened 2.57 percent and Beijing Capital Development stumbled 2.15 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed and flat as the major averages shook off a sharply lower open on Thursday, improving as the day progressed and ending little changed on opposite sides of the line.

The Dow shed 142.62 points or 0.46 percent to finish at 30,630.17, while the NASDAQ rose 3.60 points or 0.03 percent to close at 11,251.19 and the S&P 500 slid 11.40 points or 0.30 percent to end at 3,790.38.

The early weakness on Wall Street reflected disappointing earnings news from financial giants JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS), which both missed expectations.

Concerns about inflation and higher interest rates also continued to weigh on the markets after the Labor Department reported that U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in June.

Another report from the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly inched higher last week.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Thursday as concerns about the outlook for energy demand resurfaced amid fears of a possible recession due to rising interest rates. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended lower by $0.52 or 0.5 percent at $95.78 a barrel.

Closer to home, China is scheduled to release a raft of data this morning, including Q2 numbers for gross domestic product and June figures for industrial production, retail sales, fixed asset investment, house prices and unemployment.

GDP is expected to sink 1.5 percent on quarter and rise 1.0 percent on year after gaining 1.3 percent on quarter and 4.8 percent on year in the previous three months. Industrial production is tipped to add 4.1 percent on year, up from 0.7 percent in May.

Retail sales are called flat on year after sinking 6.7 percent in the previous month. FAI is expected to improve an annual 6.0 percent, easing from 6.2 percent a month earlier. House prices were down 0.1 percent on year in May, while the jobless rate was at 5.9 percent.