Higher Open Called For China Stock Market

The China stock market rebounded on Wednesday, one day after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had risen just 5 points or 0.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 2,940-point plateau and it’s predicted to see further upside on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were solidly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The SCI finished sharply higher on Wednesday following gains from the resource and property stocks, while the financials were soft.

For the day, the index rallied 59.45 points or 2.06 percent to finish at 2,938.75 after trading between 2,876.30 and 2,940.59. The Shenzhen Composite Index spiked 51.27 points or 3.29 percent to end at 1,610.78.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China tanked 2.34 percent, while Bank of China plunged 2.31 percent, China Construction Bank tumbled 1.72 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.96 percent, Bank of Communications retreated 1.87 percent, China Life Insurance soared 4.07 percent, Jiangxi Copper spiked 3.67 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) surged 4.39 percent, Yankuang Energy rallied 3.38 percent, PetroChina jumped 2.16 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) rose 0.31 percent, Huaneng Power plummeted 3.17 percent, China Shenhua Energy eased 0.13 percent, Gemdale skyrocketed 6.04 percent, Poly Developments accelerated 5.88 percent and China Vanke gained 5.04 percent.

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

The Dow gained 99.46 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 40,842.79, while the NASDAQ surged 451.98 points or 2.64 percent to end at 17,599.40 and the S&P 500 rallied 85.86 points or 1.58 percent to close at 5,522.30.

The early rally on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to the latest corporate earnings news from companies like Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Starbucks (SBUX) and DuPont (DD).

Stocks continued to see strength after the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement. While the Fed left interest rates unchanged, as expected, minor changes to the accompanying statement may hint at future rate cuts.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in his post-meeting press conference that a rate cut in September would be “on the table” if economic data continues on its current path.

Oil prices rose sharply Wednesday amid concerns about possible supply disruptions due to rising tensions in the Middle East, and on data showing a larger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up $3.18 or 4.3 percent at $77.91 a barrel.