BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has climbed higher in five straight sessions, advancing more than 145 points or 5 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,890-point plateau and it may add to its winnings again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on the belief the coronavirus will soon be eliminated. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the properties, losses from the financials and a mixed picture from the resource and insurance stocks.
For the day, the index added 14.52 points or 0.51 percent to finish at 2,890.49 after trading between 2,851.05 and 2,891.85. The Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 21.09 points or 1.20 percent to end at 1,757.26.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.37 percent, while Bank of China lost 0.28 percent, China Construction Bank eased 0.15 percent, China Merchants Bank and Ping An Insurance both sank 0.90 percent, China Life Insurance climbed 1.07 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) fell 0.42 percent, Baoshan Iron jumped 1.37 percent, China Shenhua Energy advanced 1.05 percent, Gemdale spiked 2.83 percent, Poly Developments soared 2.99 percent, China Vanke surged 4.25 percent and PetroChina was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks shook off early weakness on Monday and moved higher as the day progressed.
The Dow added 174.31 points or 0.60 percent to end at 29,276.82, while the NASDAQ rose 107.88 points or 1.13 percent to 9,628.39 and the S&P 500 gained 24.38 points or 0.73 percent to 3,352.09.
The strength on Wall Street came as traders returned to ignoring concerns about the economic impact of the deadly coronavirus outbreak. The Chinese government has revealed that a total of 40,171 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed, with 908 people dying from the disease.
Traders seemed reassured by Chinese President Xi Jinping's pledge to win the fight against the coronavirus outbreak, adding that China will speed up the development of drugs aimed at treating the deadly pneumonia-like virus.
Crude oil prices declined sharply on Monday amid rising concerns about the global economy and the outlook for energy demand due to the coronavirus outbreak. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ended down $0.75 or 1.5 percent at $49.57 a barrel, the lowest settlement for a front-month contract since early January 2019.
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