Win Streak May Continue For China Stock Market

The China stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 70 points or 2.3 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,135-point plateau and it’s tipped to open in the green again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests mild upside on improved optimism over the outlook for interest rates. European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished barely higher on Wednesday following mixed performances from the properties and resource stocks, while the financial sector was weak.

For the day, the index perked 1.25 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 3,137.14 after trading between 3,126.90 and 3,153.69. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 7.25 points or 0.37 percent to end at 1,958.88.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped 0.86 percent, while Bank of China skidded 1.05 percent, China Construction Bank sank 0.83 percent, China Merchants Bank retreated 1.19 percent, Bank of Communications fell 0.36 percent, China Life Insurance slid 0.31 percent, Jiangxi Copper perked 0.16 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) declined 0.84 percent, Yankuang Energy rose 0.29 percent, PetroChina was up 0.13 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dipped 0.33 percent, Huaneng Power lost 0.73 percent, China Shenhua Energy shed 0.56 percent, Gemdale tumbled 1.75 percent, Poly Developments jumped 1.72 percent and China Vanke was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street ends up positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, survived some early volatility and managed to finish in the green.

The Dow added 37.57 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 34,890.24, while the NASDAQ jumped 75.55 points or 0.11 percent to close at 14,019.31 and the S&P 500 rose 17.24 points or 0.38 percent to end at 4,514.87.

The strength on Wall Street came following the release of a report from payroll processor ADP showing a notable slowdown in the pace of private sector job growth in August.

The slightly smaller than expected increase in private sector employment added to recent optimism about the outlook for interest rates.

Separately, revised data from the Commerce Department showed the U.S. economy grew less than previously estimated in the second quarter.

Crude oil prices climbed higher Wednesday after data showed a big drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. The dollar’s continued weakness and the impact of Hurricane Idalia on oil fields along Florida’s Gulf Coast also supported prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October rose $0.47 or 0.6 percent at $81.63 a barrel.

Closer to home, China will see August results for its manufacturing, non-manufacturing and composite indexes later this morning; in July, their scores were 49.3, 51.5 and 51.1, respectively.