China Shares May Take Further Damage On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Wednesday wrote a finish to the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 35 points or 1.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 2,960-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests consolidation, especially among the technology and semiconductor companies. The European and U.S. markets were mostly lower and the Asian bourses also figure to follow suit.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday as heavy losses from the resource and energy stocks were mitigated by support from the financials and properties.

For the day, the index lost 13.45 points or 0.45 percent to finish at 2,962.85 after trading between 2,957.95 and 2,972.79. The Shenzhen Composite Index slumped 12.52 points or 0.78 percent to end at 1,599.29.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.34 percent, while Bank of China added 0.43 percent, China Construction Bank perked 0.13 percent, China Merchants Bank advanced 0.83 percent, China Life Insurance accelerated 2.88 percent, Jiangxi Copper tanked 3.73 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) plummeted 7.21 percent, Yankuang Energy retreated 1.72 percent, PetroChina plunged 4.00 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dropped 0.92 percent, Huaneng Power surrendered 2.39 percent, China Shenhua Energy declined 1.63 percent, Gemdale rallied 2.51 percent, Poly Developments soared 2.75 percent, China Vanke surged 2.89 percent and Bank of Communications was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is a study in contrasts as the Dow opened higher and stayed that way, hitting a fresh record high - while the NASDAQ and S&P remained mired in the red.

The Dow soared 243.60 points or 0.59 percent to finish at 41,198.08, while the NASDAQ plummeted 512.42 points or 2.77 percent to close at 17.996.92 and the S&P 500 tumbled 78.93 points or 1.39 percent to end at 5,588.27.

Wall Street was led lower by semiconductor stocks, which plummeted on reports that President Joe Biden's administration is considering tougher trade rules against companies in its chip crackdown on China.

Negative sentiment was also generated after former President Donald Trump suggested Taiwan should pay the U.S. for defense, claiming the country took "about 100 percent" of America's chip business.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted a significant rebound by new residential construction and building permits in the U.S. in June. A separate report released by the Federal Reserve showed industrial production in the U.S. increased more than expected last month.

Oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday after data showed an unexpected sharp drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, while a weaker dollar also provided support. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August rallied $2.09 or 2.6 percent at $82.85 a barrel.