BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than 35 points or 1.2 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just shy of the 2,925-point plateau and it's expected to add to its winnings on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with strength from technology stocks offset by weakness from oil and industrial companies. The European and U.S. markets were mixed and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financials and oil and insurance companies.
For the day, the index climbed 23.33 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 2,923.28 after trading between 2,907.79 and 2,931.52. The Shenzhen Composite Index advanced 17.10 points or 1.11 percent to end at 1,562.97.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.53 percent, while China Construction Bank climbed 1.10 percent, China Merchants Bank added 0.61 percent, China Life Insurance spiked 2.35 percent, Ping An Insurance jumped 1.54 percent, PetroChina perked 0.47 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) rose 0.38 percent, China Shenhua Energy advanced 0.74 percent, Gemdale dropped 0.95 percent, Poly Developments was up 0.07 percent, China Vanke eased 0.10 percent, CITIC Securities accelerated 1.71 percent and Bank of China was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is inconsistent as stocks moved mostly higher on Wednesday before finishing mixed.
The Dow shed 79.22 points or 0.29 percent to 27,269.97, while the NASDAQ rose 70.10 points or 0.85 percent to 8,321.50 and the S&P 500 gained 14.09 points or 0.47 percent to 3,019.56.
The advance by the tech-heavy stocks was due to considerable strength among semiconductor stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging 3.1 percent to a record closing high. Chipmaker Texas Instruments (TXN) led the sector after reporting Q2 results that beat estimates.
The drop by the Dow was due to a sharp decline by shares of Caterpillar, which plunged by 4.5 percent after the heavy equipment maker reported weaker than expected second quarter earnings.
In economic news, the Commerce Department reported a stronger than expected rebound in U.S. new home sales in June.
Crude oil futures ended lower on Wednesday, even as data showed a much larger than expected drop in crude stockpiles in the U.S. last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $0.89 or 1.6 percent at $55.88 a barrel.
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