(RTTNews) – The China stock market on Friday snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 30 points or 0.9 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,260-point plateau and the losses may accelerate on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower on renewed concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, resource stocks and properties.
For the day, the index lost 22.26 points or 0.68 percent to finish at 3,263.41 after trading between 3,235.35 and 3,275.66.
Among the actives, China Construction Bank eased 0.18 percent, while China Merchants Bank tumbled 1.82 percent, Bank of Communications dipped 0.21 percent, China Life Insurance skidded 1.12 percent, Jiangxi Copper retreated 1.23 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) plunged 2.55 percent, Yankuang Energy tanked 2.28 percent, PetroChina slid 0.19 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) declined 1.11 percent, Huaneng Power climbed 1.17 percent, China Shenhua Energy dropped 0.84 percent, Gemdale plummeted 2.36 percent, Poly Developments slumped 2.04 percent, China Vanke sank 1.16 percent, China Fortune Land surrendered 1.78 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened lower on Friday, rallied midday but sank into the red by the close.
The Dow tumbled 127.89 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 33,926.01, while the NASDAQ plunged 193.84 points or 1.59 percent to close at 12,006.96 and the S&P 500 sank 43.28 points or 1.04 percent to end at 4,136.48.
For the week, the NASDAQ surged 3.3 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 1.6 percent and the Dow dipped 0.2 percent.
The weakness on Wall Street reflected renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates following the release of much stronger than expected jobs data.
While the report points to continued strength in the labor market, the data has led to concerns the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates higher than currently anticipated.
Crude oil prices fell sharply Friday amid concerns about the outlook for fuel demand, with investors weighing the prospects of a recession – while a stronger dollar also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended lower by $2.49 or 3.3 percent at $73.39 a barrel.