BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has climbed higher in four straight sessions, advancing almost 150 points or 4.8 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,100-point plateau although it's overdue for profit taking on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on geopolitical concerns regarding North Korea and disappointing economic data. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and oil and insurance companies, although the property stocks were weak.
For the day, the index surged 47.85 points or 1.57 percent to finish at 3,102.10 after trading between 3,050.11 and 3,103.83. The Shenzhen Composite Index spiked 24.43 points or 1.49 percent to end at 1,660.41.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China added 0.52 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.77 percent, China Merchants Bank shed 0.40 percent, China Construction Bank gained 0.41 percent, China Life Insurance soared 2.51 percent, Ping An Insurance rose 0.12 percent, PetroChina perked 1.40 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) gathered 0.66 percent, China Shenhua Energy advanced 0.57 percent, Gemdale lost 0.71 percent, Poly Developments skidded 1.20 percent, China Vanke tumbled 1.54 percent and CITIC Securities skyrocketed 7.66 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks moved mostly lower on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session.
The Dow shed 133.17 points or 0.33 percent to 25,673.46, while the NASDAQ lost 70.44 points or 0.93 percent to 7,505.92 and the S&P 500 fell 18.20 points or 0.65 percent to 2,771.45.
Geopolitical concerns weighed on Wall Street after new satellite images of activity at a North Korean long-range rocket site suggests Pyongyang may be rapidly rebuilding the test facility that it pledged to dismantle.
Traders also reacted negatively to a report from payroll processor ADP showing U.S. private sector job growth slowed in February after an upwardly revised spike in January. Also, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected.
Crude oil futures settled lower Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration noted a larger than expected increase in crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended down $0.34 or 0.6 percent at $56.22 a barrel.
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