BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the two-day winning streak in which it had risen more than 120 points or 4.5 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 2,765-point plateau although it's expected to see a quick recovery on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on the expectation of massive stimulus relief for the coronavirus pandemic. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the properties and oil and insurance companies, while the financials came in mixed.
For the day, the index lost 16.68 points or 0.60 percent to finish at 2,764.91 after trading between 2,753.43 and 2,788.50. The Shenzhen Composite Index fell 13.70 points or 0.80 percent to end at 1,701.15.
Among the actives, China Construction Bank collected 0.31 percent, while China Merchants Bank added 0.71 percent, China Life Insurance eased 0.07 percent, Ping An Insurance fell 0.23 percent, PetroChina skidded 1.44 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) shed 0.66 percent, China Shenhua Energy jumped 1.66 percent, Gemdale slid 0.44 percent, Poly Developments sank 0.33 percent, China Vanke dropped 1.13 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks opened higher on Thursday and extended gains as the session progressed.
The Dow surged 1,351.62 points or 6.38 percent to finish at 22,552.17, while the NASDAQ added 413.24 points or 5.60 percent to 7,797.54 and the S&P 500 jumped 154.51 points or 6.24 percent to 2,630.07.
The rally on Wall Street came even though the Labor Department reported that first-time claims for unemployment benefits soared last week, as large swaths of the U.S. economy were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Any negative sentiment also seems to have been offset by last night's news that the Senate finally voted to approve a massive $2 trillion stimulus package in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Republican Senate passed the bill unanimously and it now moves to the House, which is expected to pass the legislation later today and send it on to President Trump.
Crude oil prices declined sharply and closed lower for the first time in four sessions as concerns about outlook for energy demand weighed on the commodity. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for May ended down $1.89 or 7.7 percent at $22.60 a barrel.
Closer to home, China will provide February figures for industrial profits later today; in January, profits were down 3.3 percent on year.
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