(RTTNews) – The Chinese stock market headed south again on Thursday, a session after ending a two-day losing streak in which it lost nearly 20 points or 0.6%. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,520 point plateau and is expected to stay in that neighborhood again on Friday.

Global forecasts for Asian markets are mixed to higher, with support expected from oil and tech companies. European markets were down and US stock markets were mixed and Asian markets should follow this latest lead.

The SCI ended slightly lower on Thursday as losses from oil companies, financial stocks and real estate stocks were tempered by support from energy producers.

For the day, the index lost 16.66 points or 0.47% to end at 3,520.17 after trading between 3,513.11 and 3,537.98. The Shenzhen Composite Index fell 6.15 points or 0.65% to end at 2,460.86.

Among assets, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.22%, while the Bank of China fell 0.33%, China Merchants Bank fell 0.83%, the Bank of Communications has lost 0.43%, China Life Insurance lost 0.61%, Jiangxi Copper added 0.48%, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) slipped 0.57%, Yanzhou Coal rose 2.13%, PetroChina fell 1.24%, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) fell 0.73%, Huaneng Power jumped 1.54%, China Shenhua Energy gained 0.37%, Gemdale fell 4, 20%, Poly Developments fell 2.23%, China Vanke fell 1.90%, China Fortune Land plunged 2.27%, and China Construction Bank remained unchanged.

Wall Street’s lead is mixed as the Dow Jones opened in the red Thursday and stayed there throughout the session, while the NASDAQ and S&P ignored initial weakness to end at new closing highs record.

The Dow Jones lost 60.10 points or 0.17% to finish a hat of 35,870.95, while the NASDAQ climbed 72.14 points or 0.45% to close at 15,993.71 and the S&P 500 increased 15.87 points or 0.34% to end at 4,704.54.

The mixed performance follows news of mixed earnings from some well-known companies. Retail stocks saw strong strength following bullish results from companies like Macy’s (M), BJ’s Wholesale (BJ) and Kohl’s (KSS).

At the same time, a sharp drop from Cisco Systems (CSCO) weighed on the Dow Jones after the company reported better-than-expected financial results for the first quarter but provided disappointing forecasts.

In economic news, the Department of Labor said the first claims for unemployment benefits in the United States were almost unchanged, down 1,000 from last week. In addition, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed a jump in the growth rate of regional manufacturing activity in November.

Crude oil futures stabilized higher on Thursday, rebounding from initial weakness, despite uncertainty over the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for December gained $ 0.65 or 0.8% to $ 79.01 a barrel.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.