BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, accelerating almost 190 points or 6.2 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,250-point plateau and it's looking at another solid lead for Monday's trade.
The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests a higher opening, although last week's relief rally appears to be losing stream with tech and oil stocks figure to provide support. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.
The SCI finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and resource companies.
For the day, the index jumped 36.03 points or 1.12 percent to finish at 3,251.07 after trading between 3,197.36 and 3,260.78. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 11.89 points or 0.56 percent to end at 2,144.90.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.66 percent, while Bank of China climbed 1.31 percent, China Construction Bank jumped 2.04 percent, China Merchants Bank spiked 3.73 percent, Bank of Communications rallied 3.38 percent, China Life Insurance strengthened 3.12 percent, Jiangxi Copper accelerated 2.37 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) soared 3.46 percent, Yankuang Energy surged 4.10 percent, PetroChina perked 1.34 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) advanced 1.23 percent, Huaneng Power dipped 0.13 percent, China Shenhua Energy improved 2.71 percent, Gemdale and Poly Developments both skyrocketed 9.97 percent, China Vanke gained 4.62 percent and Beijing Capital Development increased 4.05 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major average shook off early weakness on Friday to finish well into the green.
The Dow jumped 274.13 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 34,754.93, while the NASDAQ spiked 279.04 points or 2.05 percent to end at 13,893.84 and the S&P 500 climbed 51.45 points or 1.17 percent to close at 4,463.12. For the week, the NASDAQ surged 8.1 percent, the Dow spiked 5.4 percent and the S&P gained 5.5 percent.
The markets continued to benefit from recent upward momentum, with the major averages recovering from the sell-off sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, although ongoing peace talks have thus far failed to yield a breakthrough.
President Joe Biden spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the conflict on Friday, with the White House saying Biden described the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia.
In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors noted a sharp pullback in U.S. existing home sales in February. Also, the Conference Board's U.S. leading economic index rose more than expected last month.
Crude oil futures settled sharply higher on Friday but still posted a weekly loss due to concerns about outlook for energy demand and recent data showing a jump in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April ended higher by $1.72 or 1.7 percent at $104.70 a barrel. WTI crude oil futures shed more than 3 percent in the week.
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