(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished lower in back-to-back sessions, sinking more than 100 points or 2.5 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 4,135-point plateau and it may extend its losses again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on surging oil prices, ambiguity about the conflict in the Middle East and concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and resource companies.
For the day, the index slumped 42.53 points or 1.02 percent to finish at 4,135.39 after trading between 4,114.09 and 4,191.81. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 25.53 points or 0.88 percent to end at 2,861.46.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China sank 0.82 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.52 percent, Agricultural Bank of China retreated 1.33 percent, China Merchants Bank shed 0.42 percent, Bank of Communications dipped 0.15 percent, China Life Insurance tumbled 1.75 percent, Jiangxi Copper plunged 4.19 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) cratered 5.86 percent, Yankuang Energy soared 4.08 percent, PetroChina rallied 2.31 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) lost 0.39 percent, China Shenhua Energy climbed 1.17 percent, Gemdale tanked 2.05 percent, Poly Developments contracted 1.74 percent, China Vanke stumbled 2.33 percent and Huaneng Power was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is bleak as the major averages opened lower on Friday and remained in the red throughout the trading day, ending ta session lows.
The Dow tumbled 537.33 points or 1.07 percent to finish at 49,526.17, while the NASDAQ plunged 410.05 points or 1.54 percent to close at 26,225.14 and the S&P 500 sank 92.74 points or 1.24 percent to end at 7,408.50.
For the week, the S&P perked 0.1 percent, while the NASDAQ eased 0.1 percent and the Dow slipped 0.2 percent.
The sell-off on Wall Street reflected profit taking following recent strength in the markets, which lifted the NASDAQ and S&P 500 to record highs, with technology shares leading the markets lower.
A sharp increase in treasury yields also weighed on the markets, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note surging to its highest levels in almost a year after recent data has shown significant accelerations in the pace of consumer and producer price inflation, leading to concerns about the outlook for interest rates.
Crude oil prices surged on Friday after the U.S.-China summit ended with no announcement of Chinese intervention to end the gulf war, leaving the Strait of Hormuz blockade in place. West Texas Intermediate crude for June was up $4.18 or 4.13 percent at $105.35 per barrel.
Closer to home, China is scheduled to release a raft of data later this morning, including April figures for industrial production, retail sales, fixed asset investment and unemployment.
Industrial production is expected to rise 5.9 percent on year, up from 5.7 percent in March. Retail sales are tipped to climb an annual 2.0 percent, up from 1.7 percent in the previous month. FAI is seen higher by 1.6 percent, easing from 1.7 percent a month earlier, and the jobless rate is seen steady at 5.4 percent.
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