BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market ticked higher again on Thursday, one day after it had halted the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 60 points or 2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index remains just beneath the 2,980-point plateau and it's got another green light for Friday's trade.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on growing optimism for a trade deal between the United States and China. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished barely higher on Thursday following mixed performances from the financials, properties and oil companies.
For the day, the index rose 0.12 points to finish at 2,978.71 after trading between 2,969.12 and 2,988.96. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 10.54 points or 0.64 percent to end at 1,651.77.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.50 percent, while Bank of China lost 0.27 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.03 percent, China Life Insurance tumbled 2.57 percent, Ping An Insurance fell 0.26 percent, PetroChina sank 0.51 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) added 0.20 percent, China Shenhua Energy slid 0.66 percent, Gemdale was down 0.49 percent, Poly Developments gained 0.55 percent, China Vanke dipped 0.30 percent, CITIC Securities jumped 1.25 percent and China Construction Bank and China Minsheng Bank were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks opened higher on Thursday, faded a bit as the day progressed but still finished firmly in the green.
The Dow added 182.24 points or 0.66 percent to 27,674.80, while the NASDAQ gained 23.89 points or 0.28 percent and the S&P 500 rose 8.40 points or 0.27 percent to 3,085.18.
The early strength on Wall Street followed signs of progress in U.S.-China trade talks after a spokesman for the Chinese Commerce Ministry said the U.S. and China have agreed to lift existing tariffs in phases.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department reported a bigger than expected decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended November 2.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Thursday, rebounding smartly after suffering a setback in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended up $0.80 or 1.4 percent at $57.15 a barrel.
Closer to home, China will release October data for new yuan loans later today. Forecasts suggest that new loans were worth 800 billion last month, down from 1,690 billion in September.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
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