BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has closed higher in two straight sessions, advancing more than 60 points or 2 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,025-point plateau and it's expected to remain in that neighborhood again on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, with concerns over rising coronavirus cases tempered by optimism for a possible treatment. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SCI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and oil and insurance companies.
For the day, the index jumped 41.31 points or 1.38 percent to finish at 3,025.98 after trading between 2,984.98 and 3,026.19. The Shenzhen Composite Index collected 15.59 points or 0.79 percent to end at 1,991.11.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China added 0.20 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.57 percent, China Construction Bank gained 0.79 percent, China Merchants Bank soared 3.17 percent, China Life Insurance surged 3.38 percent, Ping An Insurance spiked 2.94 percent, PetroChina jumped 1.43 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) increased 0.51 percent, Baoshan Iron climbed 1.75 percent, Gemdale skyrocketed 10.00 percent, Poly Developments rallied 7.58 percent and China Vanke was up 7.46 percent
The lead from Wall Street is inconclusive as stocks opened higher Wednesday but then bounced back and forth across the unchanged like and eventually finished the session mixed.
The Dow shed 77.91 points or 0.30 percent to finish at 25,734.97, while the NASDAQ climbed 95.86 points or 0.95 percent to end at 10,154.63 and the S&P 500 rose 15.57 points or 0.50 percent to close at 3,115.86.
The upward moves by the NASDAQ and S&P came after drug giant Pfizer (PFE) and German biotech company BioNTech (BNTX) announced positive data from an early-stage human trial of a potential coronavirus vaccine.
The companies said the most advanced of four investigational vaccine candidates was generally well tolerated and produced neutralizing antibodies.
In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly expanded in June, while payroll processor ADP showed a significant increase in private sector employment last month.
Crude oil futures were higher Wednesday, as data showed a sharp fall in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures ended up $0.55 or 1.4 percent at $39.82 a barrel.
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