China Stock Market Has A Green Light For Friday

The China stock market on Thursday snapped the four-day losing streak in which it had plunged more than 210 points or 6.1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,410-point plateau and it’s expected to extend its gains on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is firm, supported by crude oil and optimism over interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow suit.

The SCI finished sharply higher on Thursday following gains from the financial shares and resource stocks, while the properties were mixed.

For the day, the index advanced 50.13 points or 1.49 percent to finish at 3,411.72 after trading between 3,382.57 and 3,416.61. The Shenzhen Composite Index spiked 70.97 points or 3.07 percent to end at 2,384.17.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China skidded 1.07 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.66 percent, China Construction Bank retreated 1.02 percent, China Merchants Bank climbed 1.01 percent, Bank of Communications lost 0.69 percent, China Life Insurance tumbled 1.75 percent, Jiangxi Copper spiked 3.11 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) soared 3.87 percent, Yanzhou Coal jumped 1.53 percent, PetroChina dipped 0.22 percent, Gemdale sank 0.83 percent, Poly Developments slid 0.20 percent, China Vanke gained 0.54 percent, China Fortune Land perked 0.71 percent and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) and China Shenhua Energy were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and remained in the green throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 153.60 points or 0.44 percent to finish at 35,084.53, while the NASDAQ rose 15.68 points or 0.11 percent to end at 14,778.26 and the S&P 500 added 18.51 points or 0.42 percent to close at 4,419.15.

The strength on Wall Street came despite some disappointing U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing economic growth fell well short of estimates in Q2.

The weaker than expected data may have added to optimism the Federal Reserve will not be in a hurry to begin scaling back its asset purchases.

Also, the Labor Department noted a modest pullback in initial jobless claims last week, while the National Association of Realtors reported an unexpected fall in pending home sales in June.

Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday as data showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories continued to support oil prices – while a weak dollar also contributed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up $1.23 or 1.7 percent at $73.62 a barrel.