BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 15 points or 0.4 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,600-point plateau and it's likely to see additional support on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing virus concerns, supported by tech and oil stocks. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financial shares, properties and resource stocks.
For the day, the index rose 5.78 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 3,595.09 after trading between 3,572.57 and 3,614.22. The Shenzhen Composite Index shed 18.01 points or 0.72 percent to end at 2,477.49.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.65 percent, while Bank of China rose 0.33 percent, China Construction Bank gained 0.68 percent, China Merchants Bank was up 0.04 percent, Bank of Communications added 0.43 percent, China Life Insurance climbed 1.22 percent, Jiangxi Copper improved 0.61 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) surged 6.07 percent, Yanzhou Coal perked 0.16 percent, PetroChina jumped 1.43 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) increased 1.20 percent, Huaneng Power soared 5.99 percent, China Shenhua Energy slid 0.50 percent, Gemdale spiked 3.40 percent, Poly Developments sank 1.06 percent, China Vanke accelerated 2.31 percent and Beijing Capital Development rallied 2.87 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened sharply higher on Tuesday and stayed that way throughout the session.
The Dow spiked 492.40 points or 1.40 percent to finish at 35,719.43, while the NASDAQ surged 461.76 points or 3.03 percent to close at 15,686.92 and the S&P 500 jumped 95.08 points or 2.07 percent to end at 4,686.75.
Easing concerns about the impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus contributed to the continued strength on Wall Street. Indications the variant causes milder symptoms has helped offset worries the new strain could derail the global economic recovery.
Intel (INTC) fueled the rally as the semiconductor giant is jumped 3.1 percent to its best closing level in well over a month. The spike by Intel comes after the company announced its intention to take its self-driving car unit Mobileye public in the U.S. in mid-2022 via an initial public offering.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing the U.S. trade deficit narrowed significantly in the month of October amid a spike in the value of exports.
Crude oil prices rose sharply on Tuesday, lifting the most active futures contracts to their highest settlement in two weeks amid rising optimism about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January surged $2.56 or 3.7 percent at $72.05 a barrel.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2021 AFX News
