China Stock Market May Reclaim Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The China stock market turned lower again on Thursday, one day after ending the two-day slide in which it had slipped almost 15 points or 0.5 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,320-point plateau although it's expected to move higher again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat thanks to easing concerns over inflation and interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished slightly lower on Thursday as losses from the properties and resource stocks were mitigated by support from the financial sector.

For the day, the index shed 8.82 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 3,318.36 after trading between 3,309.25 and 3,334.47. The Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 19.47 points or 0.91 percent to end at 2,127.69.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.43 percent, while Bank of China strengthened 1.43 percent, China Construction Bank added 0.65 percent, China Merchants Bank improved 0.80 percent, Bank of Communications gained 0.76 percent, China Life Insurance rose 0.15 percent, Jiangxi Copper eased 0.19 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) dipped 0.16 percent, Yankuang Energy sank 0.81 percent, PetroChina slumped 0.73 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) retreated 1.46 percent, Huaneng Power gathered 0.34 percent, China Shenhua Energy climbed 1.15 percent, Gemdale skidded 1.11 percent, Poly Developments was down 0.13 percent, China Vanke declined 1.26 percent and China Fortune Land was up 0.41 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 383.19 points or 1.14 percent to finish at 34,029.69, while the NASDAQ spiked 236.93 points or 1.99 percent to end at 12,166.27 and the S&P 500 jumped54.27 points or 1.33 percent to close at 4,146.22.

The rally on Wall Street came following a report from the Labor Department showing an unexpected decrease in U.S. producer prices in March.

Combined with Wednesday's tamer-than-expected consumer price inflation data, the report helped ease concerns about inflation and the outlook for interest rates.

A separate Labor Department report showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Thursday as weak data and worries about a U.S. recession raised concerns about the outlook for oil demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May slumped $1.10 or 1.3 percent at $82.16 a barrel.