BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has finished higher in four straight trading days, advancing more than 80 points or 2.7 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,965-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is directionless as investors hold their breath to see if another wave of Covid-19 is imminent. The European markets were up on Friday and the U.S. bourses were mostly lower and the Asian stocks are tipped to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares and insurance companies, while the property stocks were mixed.
For the day, the index advanced 28.32 points or 0.96 percent to finish at 2,967.63 after trading between 2,935.82 and 2,973.32. The Shenzhen Composite Index climbed 22.77 points or 1.19 percent to end at 1,931.10.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 0.19 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.29 percent, China Minsheng Bank gained 0.53 percent, China Merchants Bank eased 0.09 percent, China Life Insurance spiked 2.07 percent, Ping An Insurance was up 0.03 percent, PetroChina perked 0.23 percent, Gemdale added 0.53 percent, Poly Developments sank 0.34 percent, China Vanke increased 0.23 percent and China Construction Bank, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) and China Shenhua Energy were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as stocks opened higher on Friday but faded as the session progressed, sending the major averages mostly into the red at the close.
The Dow shed 208.64 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 25,871.46, while the NASDAQ rose 3.07 points or 0.03 percent to 9,946.12 and the S&P 500 fell 17.60 points or 0.56 percent to 3,097.74. For the week, the Dow added 1 percent, the NASDAQ jumped 3.7 percent and the S&P climbed 1.9 percent.
The higher open on Wall Street came on continued optimism about economic recovery in the wake of recent strong data on employment and retail sales.
However, reports showing a surge in coronavirus infections in several states in America and the World Health Organization's warning that the pandemic is 'accelerating and the world is in a new and dangerous phase' unsettled the market.
The Trump administration has declared there will not be another shutdown, but Apple Inc. (AAPL) announced that it is temporarily shuttering stores again in U.S. states where coronavirus cases have been spiking in recent weeks. Texas and Arizona reported record spikes in new cases on Friday.
Crude oil prices climbed higher on Friday amid continued optimism that OPEC and its allies will strictly comply with production cuts to balance demand-supply position and help stabilize prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July added $0.91 or 2.3 percent at $39.75 a barrel.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2020 AFX News
