No Relief Yet For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in three straight sessions, sliding more than 100 points or 3.4 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,980-point plateau and it's expected to extend its losses again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on rising bond yields and their effect on the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financials and oil companies, while the property sector came in mixed.

For the day, the index lost 22.33 points or 0.74 percent to finish at 2,983.06 after trading between 2,977.17 and 3,006.27. The Shenzhen Composite Index sank 17,62 points or 0.96 percent to end at 1,810.47.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China sank 0.83 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.76 percent, China Construction Bank skidded 1.06 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.25 percent, Bank of Communications lost 0.68 percent, China Life Insurance plunged 4.25 percent, Jiangxi Copper dropped 0.72 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) fell 0.67 percent, Yankuang Energy rose 0.25 percent, PetroChina slid 0.65 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) retreated 1.39 percent, Huaneng Power perked 0.14 percent, China Shenhua Energy slumped 0.55 percent, Gemdale advanced 0.93 percent, Poly Developments stumbled 0.86 percent and China Vanke spiked 1.75 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower and spent the entire day firmly in the red, ending at session lows.

The Dow dropped 286.89 points or 0.86 percent to finish at 33,127.28, while the NASDAQ slumped 202.37 points or 1.53 percent to close at 12,983.81 and the S&P 500 sank 53.84 points or 1.26 percent to end at 4,224.16.

For the week, the NASDAQ dropped 3.2 percent, the S&P 500 dove 2.4 percent and the Dow tumbled 1.6 percent.

The continued weakness on Wall Street came amid ongoing concerns about the recent surge in treasury yields to 16-year highs. Overnight, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note climbed above 5 percent for the first time since July 2007.

The recent advance by yields reflects continued worries about the outlook for interest rates, with the Federal Reserve signaling rates will remain higher for longer than previously anticipated.

Fears the Israel-Hamas war may escalate into a broader regional crisis also contributed to the negative sentiment on Wall Street.

Crude oil prices couldn't hold on to early gains, slumping on demand concerns amid fears the Israel-Hamas war may escalate into a broader regional crisis. West Texas Intermediate for November delivery, which expired Friday, fell $0.62 or 0.7 percent at $88.75 a barrel. The more active December futures slipped $0.29 or 0.3 percent to $88.08 a barrel.