China Stock Market May Stop The Bleeding On Monday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, sliding almost 40 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just shy of the 2,930-point plateau although it may find traction on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky as investors try to balance upbeat economic data against its consequences for interest rates. The European markets were down on Friday and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the resource stocks, while the financials and properties were mixed.

For the day, the index dropped 25.17 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 2,929.18 after trading between 2,916.72 and 2,967.97. The Shenzhen Composite Index stumbled 24.08 points or 1.34 percent to end at 1,773.42.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.41 percent, while Bank of China lost 0.48 percent, China Construction Bank fell 0.30 percent, China Merchants Bank jumped 1.73 percent, Bank of Communications collected 0.17 percent, China Life Insurance eased 0.19 percent, Jiangxi Copper dropped 0.88 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) sank 0.71 percent, Yankuang Energy gained 0.64 percent, PetroChina advanced 0.81 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) retreated 1.23 percent, Huaneng Power slumped 0.83 percent, China Shenhua Energy perked 0.06 percent, Poly Developments rose 0.22 percent, China Vanke gained 0.60 percent and Gemdale was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages saw considerable volatility on Friday before ending with slight gains.

The Dow added 25.81 points or 0.07 percent to finish at 37,466.11, while the NASDAQ rose 13.77 points or 0.09 percent to close at 14,524.07 and the S&P 500 perked 8.56 points or 0.18 percent to end at 4,697.24.

For the week, the major averages were down for the first time in 10 weeks as the NASDAQ plunged 3.3 percent, the S&P 500 slumped 1.5 percent and the Dow slid 0.6 percent.

The volatility came as traders reacted to key U.S. economic data, including a closely watched Labor Department report showing stronger than expected job growth in December.

While the data initially raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates, positive sentiment prevailed as traders digested the details of the report, which also showed notable downward revisions to job growth in October and November.

Crude oil showed a strong move to the upside on Friday, reflected ongoing fears of an escalation of the Israel-Hamas war into a broader regional conflict. West Texas Intermediate for February delivery surged $1.62 or 2.2 percent to $73.81 a barrel.