China Stock Market Expected To Find Traction On Thursday

The China stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, sinking almost 50 points or 1.4 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,500-point plateau although it’s due for support on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat after the Federal Reserve said to scale back stimulus as expected and not worse – although weakness from crude oil may limit the upside. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday as losses from the financials and oil companies were mitigated by support from the resource and property stocks.

For the day, the index dipped 7.09 points or 0.20 percent to finish at 3,498.54 after trading between 3,480.49 and 3,512.61. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.33 points or 0.06 percent to end at 2,393.60.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.22 percent, while China Construction Bank shed 0.68 percent, China Merchants Bank skidded 1.05 percent, Bank of Communications collected 0.22 percent, China Life Insurance rose 0.14 percent, Jiangxi Copper rallied 2.70 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) climbed 1.02 percent, Yanzhou Coal skyrocketed by the 10 percent daily limit, PetroChina tumbled 1.71 percent, China Shenhua Energy spiked 2.55 percent, Gemdale soared 4.28 percent, Poly Developments surged 5.56 percent, China Vanke accelerated 2.32 percent and Bank of China and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and languished in the red before a late rally sent them into the green at fresh record closing highs.

The Dow climbed 104.95 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 36,157.58, while the NASDAQ jumped 161.98 points or 1.04 percent to close at 15,811.58 and the S&P 500 gained 29.92 points or 0.65 percent to end at 4,660.57.

The late-day advance on Wall Street came after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to begin scaling back its asset purchases later this month.

The Fed said it plans to reduce its $120 billion in monthly bond purchases by $15 billion per month, citing the substantial further progress the economy has made toward its goals of maximum employment and price stability.

In economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. increased more than expected in October. Also, the Institute for Supply Management showed growth in U.S. service sector accelerated to a new record high last month.

Crude oil futures settled sharply lower Wednesday after data showed a significant jump in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended down by $2.74 or 3.3 percent at $81.17 a barrel.