BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market bounced right back to the upside again on Friday, one session after it had ended the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 140 points or 4.6 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index closed just below the 3,110-point plateau, and the market may see additional support on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets remains cautiously optimistic as monetary policy is expected to remain accommodative around the world for the near term. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher, and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SCI finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the construction, finance and oil stocks.
For the day, the index surged 51.07 points or 1.67 percent to finish at 3,108.60 after trading between 3,018.42 and 3,117.53 on turnover of 515.58 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index dipped 0.36 percent to end at 10,627.11 on turnover of 285.65 billion yuan.
Among the actives, China State Construction, China Railway Construction and Maanshan Iron and Steel all surged by the 10 percent daily limit, while PetroChina climbed 2.96 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) advanced 4 percent, China Construction Bank soared 5.73 percent and Agricultural Bank of China collected 2.31 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is mildly positive as stocks saw further upside on Friday after moving sharply in the two previous sessions. With the gains, the major averages further offset the sell-off that was seen earlier this month.
The Dow edged up 26.65 points or 0.2 percent to 17,804.80, while the NASDAQ rose 16.98 points or 0.4 percent to 4,765.38 and the S&P 500 climbed 9.42 points or 0.5 percent to 2,070.65. For the week, the Dow surged 3 percent, while the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 jumped by 2.4 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.
The strength continued to reflect a positive reaction to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy statement on Wednesday.
Traders have focused on the Fed's pledge to remain 'patient' as well as Fed Chair Janet Yellen's comments indicating that the central bank is unlikely to start the process of normalizing policy for at least the next couple of meetings.
Optimism about the impact of easy monetary policy from other central banks around the world also generated some buying interest.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX