BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 20 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,615-point plateau although it may spin its wheels on Thursday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets offers little guidance, with support from oil and technology stocks likely to be offset by weakness from the property and transportation companies. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.
The SCI finished slightly higher on Wednesday as gains from the financial and energy companies were capped by weakness from the property sector.
For the day, the index rose 6.01 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 3,615.72 after trading between 3,593.73 and 3,636.17. The Shenzhen Composite Index sank 16.34 points or 0.74 percent to end at 2,205.79.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China increased 0.81 percent, while Bank of China gained 0.73 percent, Agricultural Bank of China climbed 1.47 percent, China Merchants Bank added 0.63 percent, Bank of Communications improved 0.79 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.57 percent, Jiangxi Copper sank 0.85 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) perked 0.26 percent, Yankuang Energy rose 0.39 percent, PetroChina strengthened 1.83 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) rallied 1.86 percent, Huaneng Power skyrocketed 8.39 percent, China Shenhua Energy jumped 1.80 percent, Gemdale tanked 2.70 percent, Poly Developments skidded 1.19 percent and China Vanke retreated 1.62 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened slightly higher on Wednesday and hugged the line until the FOMC statement, ending mixed and little changed.
The Dow dropped 171.71 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 44,461.28, while the NASDAQ rose 31.38 points or 0.15 percent to close at 21,129.67 and the S&P 500 fell 7.96 points or 0.12 percent to end at 6,362.90.
The mixed closed by the major averages came after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged in a divided vote.
The decision to leave rates unchanged was not unanimous as Fed Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller preferred to lower rates by a quarter percentage point.
In economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. increased more than expected in July. Also, the Commerce Department said the U.S. economy rebounded by more than expected in the second quarter of 2025.
Crude oil inched higher on Wednesday on hopes the U.S. can avoid a trade war, while the grace period was cut for Russia to avoid sanctions on its energy trades from 50 to 10 days. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery rose $0.82 or 1.18 percent at $70.02 per barrel.
Closer to home, China will see July results for the manufacturing, non-manufacturing and composite PMIs from the National Bureau of Statistics this morning; in June, their scores were 49.7, 50.3 and 50.7, respectively.
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