BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market on Friday ended the two-day losing streak in which it had stumbled almost 30 points or 1.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 2,515-point plateau and it's predicted to open in the green again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat following solid U.S. employment data and an encouraging outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher on Friday and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, properties and oil and insurance companies.
For the day, the index jumped 50.51 points or 2.05 percent to finish at 2,514.87 after trading between 2,440.91 and 2,515.32. The Shenzhen Composite Index soared 33.12 points or 2.66 percent to end at 1,279.49.
Among the actives, Gemdale surged 3.58 percent, while China Vanke soared 3.57 percent, Poly Developments advanced 2.77 percent, China Merchants Bank accelerated 2.53 percent, China Construction Bank jumped 1.60 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China climbed 1.35 percent, Bank of China collected 0.85 percent, China Life Insurance advanced 1.64 percent, Ping An Insurance perked 1.63 percent, PetroChina added 1.11 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) rose 1.19 percent and China Shenhua Energy spiked 2.15 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks surged to the upside on Friday, more than offsetting the sharp pullback a day earlier.
The Dow surged 746.94 points or 3.29 percent to 23,433.16, while the NASDAQ soared 275.35 points or 4.26 percent to 6,738.86 and the S&P jumped 84.05 points or 3.43 percent to 2,531.94. For the week, the Dow added 1.6 percent, the NASDAQ gained 2.3 percent and the S&P climbed 1.9 percent.
The rebound on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to a Labor Department report showing much stronger than expected job growth in December. The annual rate of growth in average hourly employee earnings also accelerated to its highest level since April 2009.
Even as the jobs data offset concerns about the U.S. economy, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell noted the central bank will be patient with monetary policy as it watches the economy evolve. Powell stressed that monetary policy is not on a preset path after the Fed raised interest rates four times in 2018 and forecast two rate hikes in the new year.
Crude oil prices ended sharply higher Friday, extending gains to a fifth successive session, after the stronger than expected U.S. jobs data. Crude oil futures for February ended up $0.87 or 1.9 percent at $47.96 a barrel.
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