BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, collecting more than 50 points or 1.7 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,935-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft due to uncertainty over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Thursday following gains from the financials and mixed performances from the properties and energy producers.
For the day, the index gained 14.08 points or 0.48 percent to finish at the daily high of 2,937.36 after moving as low as 2,916.15. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 9.83 points or 0.63 percent to end at 1,572.80.
Among the actives, Bank of China added 0.27 percent, while China Construction Bank collected 0.54 percent, China Merchants Bank soared 2.28 percent, China Life Insurance gained 0.59 percent, Ping An Insurance rose 0.63 percent, PetroChina dipped 0.15 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) was up 0.19 percent, China Shenhua Energy gathered 0.47 percent, Gemdale dropped 1.12 percent, Poly Developments climbed 0.35 percent, China Vanke jumped 0.37 percent, CITIC Securities advanced 0.56 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks opened firmly in the red on Thursday and remained there throughout the session.
The Dow shed 128.99 points or 0.47 percent to 27,140.98, while the NASDAQ lost 82.96 points or 1.00 percent to 8,238.54 and the S&P 500 fell 15.89 points or 0.53 percent to 3,003.67.
The weakness on Wall Street reflected renewed uncertainty about the near-term outlook for monetary policy in the U.S. and Europe after ECB President Mario Draghi called the risk of a recession pretty low.
In economic news, a report from the Commerce Department showing a substantial rebound in U.S. durable goods orders has also dented optimism about a near-term rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Also, the Labor Department noted an unexpected pullback in initial jobless claims last week.
Crude oil futures ended higher on Thursday after data showed a larger than expected drop in U.S. crude stockpiles. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up $0.14 or 0.3 percent at $56.02 a barrel.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2019 AFX News
