Ahead of the break for Labor Day, the China stock market had halted the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 35 points or 1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,445-point plateau and it's expected to open under pressure Thursday as it catches up on missed sentiment.
The global forecast for the Asian is upbeat, with bargain hunting likely amid optimism for a strong economic rebound. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, resource companies and property stocks.
For the day, the index sank 28.04 points or 0.81 percent to finish at 3,446.86 after trading between 3,426.90 and 3,469.09. The Shenzhen Composite Index fell 6.72 points or 0.27 percent to end at 2,298.93.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China tumbled 1.72 percent, while Bank of China dropped 0.91 percent, China Construction Bank plunged 3.17 percent, China Merchants Bank skidded 1.09 percent, Bank of Communications retreated 1.84 percent, China Life Insurance declined 1.64 percent, Jiangxi Copper tanked 2.82 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) surrendered 2.20 percent, Yanzhou Coal plummeted 9.92 percent, PetroChina climbed 1.19 percent, China Shenhua Energy sank 2.14 percent, Gemdale cratered 4.78 percent, Poly Developments lost 1.27 percent, China Vanke advanced 1.00 percent, China Fortune Land shed 10.02 percent, Beijing Capital Development slid 9.55 percent and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street shows a positive bias as stocks fluctuated on Wednesday before ending on opposite sides of the unchanged line.
The Dow gained 97.31 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 34,230.34, while the NASDAQ lost 51.08 points or 0.37 percent to end at 13,582.42 and the S&P 500 rose 2.93 points or 0.07 percent to close at 4,167.59.
Strong gains by Dow Inc. (DOW), Chevron (CVX) and Merck (MRK) helped lift the Dow to a new record closing high.
In economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector job growth accelerated in April but missed expectations. Also, the Institute for Supply Management noted an unexpected slowdown in the pace of U.S. service sector activity last month.
Crude oil futures dipped slightly on Wednesday as traders weighed global energy demand amid a continued surge in coronavirus cases in Asia. A sharp decline in U.S. crude inventories limited the downside. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June eased $0.06 at $65.63 a barrel.
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