BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has finished higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing more than 40 points or 1 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just shy of the 4,125-point plateau although it may spin its wheels on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on surging oil prices and the ongoing war in the Middle East. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished modestly higher following mixed performances from the financial shares and property stocks, while the resource companies were soft.
For the day, the index added 15.63 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 4,124.19 after trading between 4,085.90 and 4,129.46. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 25.50 points or 0.95 percent to end at 2,698.32.
Among the actives, Agricultural Bank of China shed 0.59 percent, while China Merchants Bank perked 0.13 percent, Bank of Communications collected 0.74 percent, China Life Insurance was up 0.14 percent, Jiangxi Copper tanked 2.71 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) plunged 5.54 percent, Yankuang Energy crashed 4.22 percent, PetroChina stumbled 3.07 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) retreated 2.13 percent, Huaneng Power jumped 1.74 percent, China Shenhua Energy eased 0.11 percent, Gemdale advanced 0.96 percent, Poly Developments lost 0.61 percent, China Vanke gained 0.64 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as the major averages opened lower on Friday and remained under water throughout the trading day, ending near session lows.
The Dow dropped 453.19 points or 0.95 percent to finish at 47,501.55, while the NASDAQ tumbled 361.31 points or 1.59 percent to close at 22,387.68 and the S&P 500 sank 90.69 points or 1.33 percent to end at 6,740.02.
The sell-off on Wall Street came amid an extended surge by the price of crude oil. Crude oil has skyrocketed over the past week as the U.S.-Iran conflict spreads across the Middle East, leading to concerns about a global energy crisis.
Crude oil prices surged on Friday after Qatar warned of a production halt in the gulf as the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has heavily disrupted energy supply routes through the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was up $9.88 or 12.20 percent at $90.89 per barrel.
As the Middle East conflict entered its seventh day, Israel intensified air strikes on Iran, while the U.S. said its attacks on Iran are going to 'surge dramatically.'
Negative sentiment was also generated by the watched Labor Department report showing U.S. unemployment unexpectedly in February. The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4 percent in February from 4.3 percent in January.
Closer to home, China will release February figures for consumer and producer prices later this morning. In January, consumer prices were up 0.2 percent both on month and on year, while producer prices sank an annual 1.4 percent.
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