BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, collecting almost 25 points or 0.7 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,270-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside, with earnings optimism tempered by worsening coronavirus. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SCI finished slightly higher on Thursday as gains from the properties were offset by weakness from the insurance companies and a mixed performance from the financials and oil stocks.
For the day, the index rose 3.49 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 3,272.73 after trading between 3,231.12 and 3,289.77. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 10.47 points or 0.47 percent to end at 2,249.57,
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped 0.80 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.62 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.22 percent, Bank of Communications lost 0.44 percent, China Life Insurance tanked 2.16 percent, Ping An Insurance retreated 1.16 percent, PetroChina skidded 0.98 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) rose 0.26 percent, China Shenhua Energy fell 0.54 percent, Gemdale climbed 1.41 percent, Poly Developments gained 0.25 percent, China Vanke jumped 1.71 percent and China Construction Bank was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as bargain hunters fueled a significant rebound on Thursday, recovering for the major selloff a day earlier.
The Dow gained 139.16 points or 0.52 percent to finish at 26,659.11, while the NASDAQ soared 180.72 points or 1.64 percent to end at 11,185.59 and the S&P 500 jumped 39.08 points or 1.19 percent to close at 3,310.11.
The jump by the tech-heavy NASDAQ was led by Facebook (FB), with the social media spiking by 4.9 percent ahead of the release of its third quarter results. Tech giants Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN) also moved sharply higher ahead of their quarterly results.
The strength on Wall Street also followed a Commerce Department report showing a stronger than expected rebound by the U.S. economy in the third quarter. Adding to the positive sentiment, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to their lowest level since before the coronavirus-induced lockdowns last week.
Crude oil prices fell sharply Thursday on concerns for the outlook of energy demand due to a renewed surge in coronavirus cases and tighter lockdown measures in several countries. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended down $1.22 or 3.3 percent at $36.17 a barrel, the lowest settlement in nearly five months.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX