Win Streak May End For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished higher in four straight sessions, collecting almost 80 points or 2 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 4,130-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on AI concerns and ahead of key U.S. inflation data. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SCI finished slightly higher on Thursday following gains from the energy companies, weakness from the financials and a mixed picture from the property and resource stocks.

For the day, the index rose 5.65 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 4,134.02 after trading between 4,124.13 and 4,140.59. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 13.77 points or 0.51 percent to end at 2,708.93.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 1.51 percent, while Agricultural Bank of China tanked 2.65 percent, China Merchants Bank contracted 1.04 percent, Bank of Communications retreated 1.32 percent, China Life Insurance stumbled 1.21 percent, Jiangxi Copper perked 0.21 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) dropped 0.83 percent, Yankuang Energy surged 5.17 percent, PetroChina jumped 1.75 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) advanced 0.92 percent, Huaneng Power rose 0.43 percent, China Shenhua Energy sank 0.70 percent, Gemdale slumped 1.18 percent, Poly Developments skidded 1.02 percent and China Vanke added 0.61 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but quickly headed south and trended lower as the day progressed, ending at session lows.

The Dow stumbled 669.42 points or 1.34 percent to finish at 49,451.98, while the NASDAQ plunged 469.32 points or 2.03 percent to close at 22,597.15 and the S&P 500 dropped 108.71 points or 1.57 percent to end at 6,832.76.

The sell-off on Wall Street was partly attributed to concerns about the impact of the artificial intelligence buildout on industries other than the tech sector, such as financial, transportation and logistics and commercial real estate companies.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits dipped less than expected last week. Also, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales pulled back much more than expected in January.

The focus now shifts to the Labor Department's report on consumer price inflation that is due to be released before the start of trading on Friday.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Thursday after the demand forecast by the International Energy Agency for 2026 projected an overwhelming supply glut. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down $1.97 or 3.05 percent at $62.66 per barrel.