Higher Open Anticipated For China Stock Market

The China stock market on Thursday wrote a finish to the two-day slide in which it had fallen more than 25 points or 0.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,300-point plateau and it’s tipped to extend its gains on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the U.S. debt ceiling situation. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the financial shares and resource stocks were capped by weakness from the property sector.

For the day, the index improved 13.09 points or 0.40 percent to finish at 3,297.32 after trading between 3,284.17 and 3,313.86. The Shenzhen Composite Index perked 2.72 points or 0.13 percent to end at 2,028.68.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China soared 2.61 percent, while Bank of China collected 1.45 percent, China Construction Bank spiked 2.13 percent, China Merchants Bank eased 0.14 percent, Bank of Communications strengthened 1.54 percent, China Life Insurance jumped 1.88 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) added 0.53 percent, Yankuang Energy perked 0.17 percent, PetroChina surged 3.21 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) rallied 2.17 percent, China Shenhua Energy gained 0.49 percent, Gemdale tumbled 1.90 percent, Poly Developments shed 0.51 percent, China Vanke skidded 1.08 percent, China Fortune Land plunged 2.46 percent, Beijing Capital Development slumped 1.18 percent and Jiangxi Copper and Huaneng Power were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages shook off a flat open on Thursday, bounced up and down throughout the session before ending firmly higher.

The Dow climbed 115.14 points or 0.34 percent to finish at 33,535.91, while the NASDAQ surged 188.27 points or 1.51 percent to end at 12,688.84 and the S&P 500 added 39.28 points or 0.94 percent to close at 4,198.05.

Optimism lawmakers will eventually reach an agreement on raising the U.S. debt ceiling contributed to the continued strength on Wall Street.

Following a meeting earlier in the week, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., both expressed optimism a deal will be reached.

In economic news, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week. The National Association of Realtors also released a report unexpectedly showing a steep drop in U.S. existing home sales in April.

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Thursday amid concerns about the outlook for demand after recent data showed an increase in U.S. crude inventories last week, while a strong dollar weighed as well on oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for June ended lower by $0.97 or 1.3 percent at $71.86 a barrel.