BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has finished higher now in seven straight sessions, surging more than 650 points or 15 percent on its way to another fresh seven-year closing high. The Shanghai Composite Index settled just above the 4,940-point plateau, and the market is looking at another positive lead again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is fairly upbeat after the markets were mostly lower yesterday, while optimism regarding the Greek debt problem adds to the positive sentiment. The European and U.S. markets ended higher and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the oil companies and industrial issues.
For the day, the index collected 30.82 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 4,941.71 after trading between 4,857.06 and 4,958.16 on turnover of 1.1 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Composite Index climbed 33.36 points or 1.16 percent to end at 2,918.02 on turnover of 991.1 billion yuan.
Among the actives, Wuxi Huadong Heavy Machinery and China First Heavy Industries both surged by the 10 percent daily limit, while PetroChina climbed 2.30 percent and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) jumped 2.02 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks showed a substantial rebound on Wednesday after selling off in the previous session, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ hitting a new record closing high.
The NASDAQ surged 73.84 points or 1.5 percent to 5,106.59, while the Dow climbed 121.45 points or 0.7 percent to 18,162.99 and the S&P 500 advanced 19.28 points or 0.9 percent to 2,123.48.
The strength came on bargain hunting following the steep drop in the previous session, which came amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates.
Analysts suggested that Tuesday's pullback was overdone, citing expectations that the Federal Reserve will delay its first rate hike until later in the year.
Buying interest was also generated by optimistic comments from Greek Prime Minister Alexi Tsipras, who told reporters his government is close to an agreement to secure funding from its European and International Monetary Fund lenders.
European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis noted the two sides are working toward an agreement as quickly as possible but still have a ways to go.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX