The China stock market has finished sharply lower in back-to-back trading days, plunging almost 180 points or 5 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just shy of the 3,310-point plateau and it's looking at another soft start again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with investors likely to remain skittish following heavy losses earlier this week. A steep drop in crude oil adds to the weak sentiment. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down - and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished sharply lower again on Wednesday following heavy damage among the financials, properties, oil companies and insurance stocks.
For the day, the index retreated 61.39 points or 1.82 percent to finish at 3,309.26 after trading between 3,304.01 and 3,425.54. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 11.70 points or 0.68 percent to end at 1,714.39.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China plummeted 5.81 percent, while Agricultural Bank of China plunged 5.31 percent, China Construction Bank tumbled 5.96 percent, Bank of Communications eased 0.14 percent, China Life skidded 2.13 percent, Ping An Insurance dropped 3.24 percent, PetroChina shed 2.83 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) lost 3.51 percent, China Vanke plunged 7.93 percent, Gemdale plummeted 8.77 percent and Jiangxi Copper fell 4.25 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks spent much of the day in positive territory before fizzling at the end to finish in the red.
The Dow shed 19.42 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 24,893.35, while the NASDAQ lost 63.90 points or 0.90 percent and the S&P 500 fell 13.49 points or 0.50 percent to 2,681.65.
Monday's sell-off was the worst single-day point decline in the Dow's history. Wednesday's lack of direction suggests that stocks remain overbought after a recent rally powered by tax breaks. The specter of a government shutdown also rattled investors.
Traders digested mixed remarks from Federal Reserve officials on a day bereft of economic news.
An increase in consumer prices could warrant as many as four rate hikes by year's end, said Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans. But Fed New York President William Dudley said the recent downturn in the stock market does not change the outlook for interest rates.
Crude oil futures fell sharply Wednesday, extending a recent slump after data showed U.S. oil inventories dropped for a second week in a row. March WTI oil settled at $61.79/bbl, down $1.60 or 2.5 percent - the lowest in a month.
Closer to home, China will release January figures for imports, exports and trade balance. Imports are expected to rise 11.2 percent on year after adding 4.5 percent in December. Exports are called higher by an annual 11.3 percent, up from 10.9 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at $54.70 billion, up from $54.69 billion a month earlier.
by RTT Staff Writer
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