The China stock market on Wednesday halted the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 15 points or 0.4 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,490-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian suggests consolidation on inflation concerns and a drop in crude oil prices. 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 modestly lower on Wednesday as losses from the financials and resource stocks were mitigated by support from the properties.
For the day, the index lost 14.54 points or 0.41 percent to finish at 3,492.46 after trading between 3,448.44 and 3,498.94. The Shenzhen Composite Index dipped 6.16 points or 0.25 percent to end at 2,430.08.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.43 percent, while China Construction Bank fell 0.34 percent, China Merchants Bank dropped 0.84 percent, Bank of Communications sank 0.86 percent, China Life Insurance retreated 1.14 percent, Jiangxi Copper skidded 0.87 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) declined 1.28 percent, Yanzhou Coal plunged 3.45 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) gained 0.74 percent, Huaneng Power surrendered 1.69 percent, China Shenhua Energy tumbled 1.90 percent, Gemdale surged 6.35 percent, Poly Developments skyrocketed 7.57 percent, China Vanke spiked 4.17 percent, China Fortune Land jumped 1.75 percent and Bank of China, PetroChina and China Minsheng Banking were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened slightly lower on Wednesday but saw the losses accelerate as the day progressed to finish solidly under water.
The Dow tumbled 240.04 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 36,079.94, while the NASDAQ plunged 263.84 points or 1.66 percent to close at 15,622.71 and the S&P 500 sank 38.54 points or 0.82 percent to end at 4,646.71.
Concerns about inflation contributed to the weakness on Wall Street after the Labor Department released a report showing consumer prices increased by more than expected in October, lifting the annual rate of price growth to its highest level in over thirty years.
The acceleration in the rate of consumer price inflation raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates even though the Federal Reserve has signaled it will not be in a hurry to begin raising rates.
Also, a separate report from the Labor Department showed another modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.
Crude oil prices declined sharply on Wednesday, snapping a three-day winning streak after data showed an increase in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended down by $2.81 or 3.3 percent at $81.34 a barrel.
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