The China stock market headed south again on Friday, one session after it had ended the two-day slide in which it had eased just 5 points or 0.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,450-point plateau although it's expected to recover on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian is cautiously optimistic, with support from technology stocks offset by weakness from crude oil prices. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Friday as losses from the financials and properties were mitigated by support from the oil companies and a mixed picture from the resource stocks.
For the day, the index sank 31.87 points or 0.92 percent to finish at 3,450.68 after trading between 3,442.14 and 3,475.45. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 21.37 points or 0.95 percent to end at 2,236.58.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.37 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.30 percent, China Construction Bank dropped 0.97 percent, China Merchants Bank lost 0.50 percent, Bank of Communications fell 0.41 percent, China Life Insurance tanked 2.31 percent, Jiangxi Copper plunged 3.38 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) skyrocketed 6.25 percent, Yanzhou Coal sank 0.73 percent, PetroChina rose 0.23 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) gained 0.69 percent, China Shenhua Energy eased 0.05 percent, Gemdale tumbled 1.75 percent, Poly Developments skidded 1.13 percent, China Vanke retreated 1.06 percent and China Minsheng Bank was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks moved mostly higher on Friday, sending the Dow and the S&P 500 to fresh record closing highs.
The Dow climbed 297.03 points or 0.89 percent to finish at 33,800.60, while the NASDAQ added 70.88 points or 0.51 percent to end at 13,900.19 and the S&P gained 31.63 points or 0.77 percent to close at 4,128.80. For the week, the Dow rose 2 percent, the NASDAQ spiked 3.1 percent and the S&P jumped 2.7 percent.
The strength on Wall Street reflected continued optimism about a swift recovery by the U.S. economy. Traders are hopeful the economy may fully reopen soon after the Centers for Disease Control reported nearly 20 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Repeated assurances the Federal Reserve will maintain its ultra-easy monetary policy for the foreseeable future may also have generated continued buying interest.
In economic news, the Labor Department said U.S. producer prices jumped more than expected in March.
Crude oil prices drifted lower Friday as worries about the outlook for energy demand amid a continued surge in coronavirus cases weighed on the commodity. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended lower by $0.28 or 0.5 percent at $59.32 a barrel.
Closer to home, China will on Monday see March figures for new yuan loans later today. Loans are forecast at CNY2.50 trillion, up from CNY1.360 trillion in February.
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