BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market bounced higher again on Friday, one session after it had ended the seven-day winning streak in which it had surged more than 180 points or 6.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,915-point plateau although it figures to head south again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to lower, with investors expected to evaluate the most current coronavirus numbers. The European markets were down on Friday and the U.S. bourses were mixed but little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the properties, financials and resource stocks.
For the day, the index collected 10.94 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 2,917.01 after trading between 2,899.57 and 2,926.94. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 7.82 points or 0.44 percent to end at 1,779.43.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.37 percent, while Bank of China advanced 0.85 percent, China Construction Bank added 0.45 percent, China Merchants Bank climbed 1.05 percent, China Life Insurance shed 0.20 percent, Ping An Insurance gained 0.68 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) rose 0.21 percent, Baoshan Iron gathered 0.38 percent, China Shenhua Energy jumped 0.84 percent, Gemdale skyrocketed 8.29 percent, Poly Developments surged 3.31 percent, China Vanke soared 2.84 percent and PetroChina was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is ambiguous as stocks saw choppy trade on Friday, bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing mixed.
The Dow eased 25.22 points or 0.09 percent to end at 29,398.08, while the NASDAQ gained 19.21 points or 0.20 percent to 9,731.18 and the S&P 500 rose 6.22 points or 0.18 percent to 3,380.16. For the week, the NASDAQ spiked 2.2 percent, the S&P rose 1.6 percent and the Dow rose 1 percent.
Traders have recently shown a predilection toward buying despite signs of mounting headwinds, but the release of a mixed batch of U.S. economic data finally gave them pause.
The Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose in line with estimates in January, while core retail sales came in unchanged. Also, the Federal Reserve saw decrease in U.S. industrial production in January, while the University of Michigan noted an unexpected increase in U.S. consumer sentiment in February.
Crude oil prices surged higher on Friday with traders creating fresh long positions amid hopes the coronavirus impact may not weigh on the global economy for long. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures ended up $0.63 or 1.2 percent at $52.05 a barrel.
Closer to home, China will provide January figures for new home prices later today; in December, prices were up 0.4 percent on month.
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