BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 45 points or 1.8 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 2,635-point plateau although it may see profit taking on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild consolidation on profit taking and uncertainty regarding trade between the United States and China. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SCI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and oil and insurance companies.
For the day, the index jumped 31.90 points or 1.23 percent to finish at 2,634.05 after trading between 2,599.46 and 2,645.84. The Shenzhen Composite Index perked 14.89 points or 1.11 percent to end at 1,360.92.
Among the actives, Gemdale was up 0.69 percent, while Poly Developments surged 3.41 percent, China Vanke soared 2.85 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China climbed 0.94 percent, China Merchants Bank perked 1.02 percent, Bank of China collected 0.28 percent, China Construction Bank advanced 1.36 percent, China life Insurance added 0.88 percent, Ping An Insurance jumped 1.18 percent, PetroChina gathered 0.92 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) gained 1.19 percent and China Shenhua Energy rose 0.62 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is murky as stocks showed a lack of direction on Thursday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before ending mixed.
The Dow added 70.11 points or 0.29 percent to 24,597.38, while the NASDAQ shed 27.98 points or 0.39 percent to 7,070.33 and the S&P 500 fell 0.53 points or 0.02 percent to 2,650.54.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders waffled between optimism and skepticism about a potential trade deal with China. Mostly, traders are skeptical the U.S. and China will reach a long-term trade agreement amid disputes over intellectual property and other key issues.
In economic news, the Labor Department noted a steeper than expected drop in initial jobless claims in the week ended December 8. Also, the Labor Department said import prices plunged more than expected in November and export prices also fell more than expected.
Crude oil prices rebounded after early weakness on Thursday, lifted by reports that Saudi Arabia is likely to slash shipments to U.S. refiners. Crude oil futures for January ended up $1.43 or 2.8 percent at $52.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Closer to home, China will release November numbers for retail sales, industrial production, fixed asset investment, property investment and unemployment later this morning.
Retail sales are expected to rise 8.8 percent on year, up from 8.6 percent in October. Industrial output is called steady at 5.9 percent, while FAI is tipped to rise to 5.9 percent from 5.7 percent a month earlier.
Property investment was up an annual 9.7 percent in October, while the jobless rate came in at 4.9 percent.
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