Losing Streak May End For China Bourse

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in back-to-back sessions, easing almost 15 points or 0.4 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,350-point plateau although it may find support on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cloudy, with little movement expected as firm crude oil prices figure to prevent too much damage. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and little changed on Friday and the Asian markets are expected to follow that lead.

The SCI finished slightly lower on Friday as losses from the resources stocks and properties were mitigated by support from the financials and insurance companies.

For the day, the index sank 5.28 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 3,352.53 after trading between 3,334.98 and 3,356.45.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.50 percent, while Agricultural Bank of China added 0.53 percent, Vanke plummeted 2.08 percent, Gemdale shed 0.32 percent, PetroChina lost 0.25 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical gained 0.68 percent, China Life jumped 1.63 percent, Ping An Insurance gathered 0.41 percent and Jiangxi Copper dropped 0.91 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is uninspired as stocks were lackluster on Friday, hovering near the unchanged line before ending mixed.

The Dow shed 9.64 points or 0.04 percent to 22.349.59, while the NASDAQ added 4.23 points or 0.07 percent to 6,426.92 and the S&P gained 1.62 points or 0.06 percent to 2,502.22. For the week, the NASDAQ eased 0.3 percent, the Dow rose 0.4 percent and the S&P added 0.1 percent.

The choppy trading reflected geopolitical concerns amid an escalating war of words between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump. Also, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said his country may consider testing a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean.

Crude oil prices inched higher Friday, preserving weekly gains as OPEC met in Vienna to discuss output cuts. November oil rose 11 cents to $50.66 a barrel for a weekly gain over 0.4 percent.