BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has finished higher now in five straight sessions, gathering almost 40 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,405-point plateau and it's called higher again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is mostly positive thanks to optimism over U.S. tax reform, plus a bump in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were up, and the Asian markets are expected to follow suit.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the insurance companies were capped by weakness from the financials and a mixed bag from the oil companies.
For the day, the index gained 10.67 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 3,407.57 after trading between 3,391.45 and 3,414.24.
Among the actives, Bank of China skidded 1.72 percent, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China tumbled 1.79 percent, Agricultural Bank of China dropped 1.86 percent, Vanke added 0.36 percent, Gemdale plummeted 1.83 percent, China Life collected 0.03 percent, Ping An Insurance spiked 2.18 percent, PetroChina gained 0.49 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) fell 0.34 percent, Jiangxi Copper climbed 1.25 percent and Zijin Mining plunged 2.52 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as stocks were positive for most of Thursday's trade, although the tech-heavy NASDAQ faded in the end.
The NASDAQ fell 7.12 points or 0.11 percent to 6,556.77, but the Dow rose 71.40 points or 0.31 percent to 23,400.86 and the S&P 500 inched up 3.25 points or 0.13 percent to 2,560.40.
The mixed close came despite positive sentiment generated by news that House Republicans voted to approve a Senate-passed budget resolution, taking a key step toward tax reform.
Traders were also reacting to the European Central Bank's monetary policy announcement as ECB President Mario Draghi said it will reduce the size of its asset purchases at the start of next year while extending them for nine months, as expected.
In economic news, the Labor Department noted a rebound in initial jobless claims in the week ended October 21. Also, the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales were unexpectedly flat in September.
Crude oil futures rose Thursday, approaching multi-month highs amid optimism the global supply glut will end in 2018. December WTI oil climbed 46 cents or 0.9 percent to $52.64/bbl. A strong dollar prevented a larger advance.
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