BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one session after it had snapped the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 35 points or 1.4 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 2,600-point plateau and it's called higher again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on global trade optimism and a surge in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were firmly 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, property stocks and oil and insurance companies.
For the day, the index advanced 36.37 points or 1.42 percent to finish at 2,596.01 after trading between 2,565.90 and 2,598.88. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 13.00 percent or 0.99 percent to end at 1,322.14.
Among the actives, China Construction Bank soared 2.95 percent, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China spiked 2.67 percent, China Merchants Bank perked 2.38 percent, Bank of China collected 0.85 percent, China Life Insurance advanced 2.04 percent, Ping An Insurance gathered 2.03 percent, PetroChina added 0.55 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) gained 0.75 percent, China Shenhua Energy surged 3.04 percent, Gemdale rose 0.59 percent, Poly Developments accelerated 22.55 percent, China Vanke climbed 3.16 percent and CITIC Securities was up 1.82 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks moved sharply higher Friday, extending recent gains as the major averages hit their best closing levels in more than a month.
The Dow jumped 336.25 points or 1.38 percent to 24,706.35, while the NASDAQ rose 72.76 points or 1.03 percent to 7,157.23 and the S&P added 34.75 points or 1.32 percent to 2,670.71. For the week, the Dow spiked 3 percent, the NASDAQ rose 2.7 percent and the S&P gained 2.9 percent.
The rally on Wall Street rode continued optimism about trade talks between the U.S. and China as reports suggested China may go on a six-year buying spree to ramp up imports from the U.S.
In economic news, the University of Michigan noted a substantial drop in U.S. consumer sentiment in January. Also, the Federal Reserve said industrial production increased more than expected in December, as jumps in manufacturing and mining offset a pullback in utilities output.
Crude oil prices surged on Friday, driven by an OPEC report that showed the biggest monthly drop in crude production in nearly two years in December. Crude oil futures for February ended up $1.73 or 3.3 percent at $53.80 a barrel.
Closer to home, China will release a raft of data this morning, including Q4 numbers for GDP, as well as December data for retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment.
GDP is expected to expand 1.5 percent on quarter and 6.4 percent on year, easing from 1.6 percent on quarter and 6.5 percent on year in the three months prior.
Retail sales are tipped to rise 8.2 percent on year, up from 8.1 percent in November. Industrial production is predicted to gain an annual 5.3 percent, slowing from 5.4 percent in the previous month. FAI is tipped to gain 6.0 percent on year, up from 5.9 percent a month earlier.
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