BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the five-day slide in which it had retreated more than 210 points or 6.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite index now sits just beneath the 3,440-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with support expected from the oil and technology stocks. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares, resource stocks and properties.
For the day, the index spiked 79.09 points or 2.36 percent to finish at the daily high of 3,436.83 after moving as low as 3,369.90. The Shenzhen Composite Index accelerated 51.13 points or 2.36 percent to end at 2,216.48.
Among the actives, Jiangxi Copper and Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) both skyrocketed by the 10 percent daily limit, while Yanzhou Coal spiked 2.81 percent, PetroChina gained 1.14 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) advanced 1.36 percent, China Shenhua Energy improved 1.73 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China climbed 1.48 percent, China Construction Bank rallied 2.63 percent, China Merchants Bank soared 5.52 percent, Bank of Communications collected 0.22 percent, China Life Insurance jumped 1.77 percent, Gemdale added 1.08 percent, Poly Developments rose 0.67 percent, China Vanke was up 1.50 percent and Bank of China was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks opened higher and picked up steam as the day progressed, with the Dow and S&P hitting fresh record closing highs.
The Dow jumped 188.57 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 32,485.59, while the NASDAQ surged 329.84 points or 2.52 percent to end at 13,398.67 and the S&P 500 spiked 40.53 points or 1.04 percent to close at 3,939.34.
Technology stocks helped lead the way higher amid continued bargain hunting, which led to the NASDAQ's biggest single-day gain since last November on Tuesday.
The markets also benefited from optimism about the impact of more fiscal stimulus after the House passed a $1.9 trillion relief package, which President Joe Biden has signed into law.
Buying interest may also have been generated by a report from the Labor Department showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell to a four-month low last week.
Crude oil futures moved sharply higher on Thursday, extending the rebound seen in the previous session amid optimism about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate jumped $1.58 or 2.45 percent to $66.02 per barrel.
Closer to home, China will provide February figures for foreign direct investment later today; in January, FDI was up 4.6 percent on year.
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