Soft Start Expected For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in four straight sessions, sinking almost 100 points or 3.1 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,150-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the red again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is weak on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday as losses from the financial shares and resource stocks were mitigated by support from the property sector.

For the day, the index sank 26.05 points or 0.82 percent to finish at 3,150.13 after trading between 3,149.72 and 3,176.63. The Shenzhen Composite Index dropped 18.80 points or 0.95 percent to end at 1,967.64.

Among the actives, Bank of China dipped 0.26 percent, while China Construction Bank fell 0.34 percent, China Merchants Bank retreated 1.21 percent, Bank of Communications eased 0.18 percent, China Life Insurance declined 1.37 percent, Jiangxi Copper dropped 0.99 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) stumbled 1.32 percent, Yankuang Energy slumped 1.45 percent, PetroChina surrendered 2.42 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) tumbled 1.62 percent, Huaneng Power sank 0.97 percent, China Shenhua Energy shed 0.44 percent, Gemdale surged 3.75 percent, Poly Developments jumped 1.93 percent, China Vanke rallied 1.75 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday but quickly turned lower and ended solidly in the red.

The Dow dropped 180.65 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 34,765.74, while the NASDAQ tumbled 156.42 points or 1.15 percent to close at 13,474.63 and the S&P 500 sank 33.53 points or 076 percent to end at 4,404.33.

The weakness that emerged on Wall Street followed the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting, which said "most of the central bank officials continued to see significant upside risks to inflation, which could require further tightening of monetary policy."

In economic news, U.S. industrial and manufacturing production both eased in July, while building permits and housing starts saw mild upside.

Crude oil prices slipped Wednesday amid worries about the outlook for energy demand from China and uncertainty over interest rates. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September shed $1.61 or 2 percent at $79.38 a barrel.