BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has climbed higher in three straight sessions, advancing almost 120 points or 3.6 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,480-point plateau and it may see continued strength on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on earnings optimism and support from oil and technology stocks. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished modestly higher as gains from the resource stocks were capped by weakness from the oil and financial companies.
For the day, the index gained 27.32 points or 0.79 percent to finish at 3,479.95 after trading between 3,444.08 and 3,484.74. The Shenzhen Composite Index spiked 36.72 points or 1.61 percent to end at 2,317.23.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.21 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.32 percent, China Construction Bank sank 0.63 percent, China Merchants Bank eased 0.17 percent, Bank of Communications lost 0.40 percent, China Life Insurance dipped 0.03 percent, Jiangxi Copper jumped 3.31 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) soared 4.41 percent, Yankuang Energy surged 4.68 percent, PetroChina dropped 0.90 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) slumped 0.68 percent, Huaneng Power skyrocketed 6.19 percent, China Shenhua Energy tanked 2.08 percent, Gemdale plunged 2.59 percent, Poly Developments retreated 1.33 percent, China Vanke tumbled 1.82 percent and China Fortune Land rallied 4.89 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened firmly higher and remained that way throughout the session.
The Dow spiked 305.28 points or 0.86 percent to finish at 35,768.06, while the NASDAQ surged 295.92 points or 2.08 percent to end at 14,490.37 and the S&P 500 gained 65.64 points or 1.45 percent to close at 4,587.18.
The rally on Wall Street came as stocks continued to recover from the sharp pullback in January, with the Dow reaching its best levels in almost a month. The major averages remain well off the record highs but have climbed well off the multi-month lows set in late January.
Upbeat earnings also contributed to the continued strength on Wall Street, led by such companies as Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), cannabis producer Canopy Growth (CGC) and solar energy company Enphase Energy (ENPH), while CVS Health (CVS) disappointed.
Crude oil prices moved higher Wednesday after data showed a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $0.30 or 0.3 percent at $89.66 a barrel.
Closer to home, China will on Thursday see January data for new yuan loans. New yuan loans are expected to be worth CNY3690 billion, up from CNY1130 billion in December. The M2 money supply is called at 9.2 percent, up from 9.0 percent in the previous month. Outstanding loan growth is seen steady at 11.6 percent.
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