BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market rebounded on Thursday, one session after it had ended the two-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 100 points or 3.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,910-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on rising oil prices and an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to follow suit.
The SCI finished slightly higher on Thursday following mixed performances from the financials and energy producers.
For the day, the index added 1.36 points or 0.05 percent to finish at 2,910.74 after trading between 2,885.92 and 2,918.42.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.52 percent, while China Merchants Bank fell 0.23 percent, China Construction Bank lost 0.41 percent, Ping An Insurance eased 0.04 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dipped 0.19 percent, China Shenhua Energy rose 0.31 percent, Gemdale dropped 1.00 percent, Poly Developments declined 0.86 percent, China Vanke retreated 0.61 percent, CITIC Securities advanced 0.96 percent and PetroChina, Bank of China and China Life Insurance were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks bounced higher Thursday following two days of weakness, although the buying interest was somewhat subdued.
The Dow added 101.94 points or 0.39 percent to 26,106.77, while the NASDAQ gained 44.41 points or 0.57 percent to 7,837.13 and the S&P 500 rose 11.80 points or 0.41 percent to 2,891.64.
Continued optimism tame inflation will lead the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates contributed to the strength on Wall Street after a Labor Department report showed bigger than expected decreases in U.S. import and export prices.
Crude oil prices rebounded Thursday from five-month lows, as reports of an attack on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman suggested a likely fall in crude supply in the international market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July ended up $1.14 or 2.2 percent at $52.28 a barrel.
Closer to home, China is scheduled to release a raft of data later today, including May figures for industrial production, retail sales, fixed-asset investment, unemployment and property investment.
Industrial production is called steady at 5.4 percent on year, while FAI is also tipped to be unchanged at 6.1 percent. Retail sales are predicted to climb an annual 8.0 percent, up from 7.2 percent in April. The jobless rate was 5.0 percent in April, while property investment spiked 11.9 percent on year.
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