Win Streak May Continue For China Stock Market

The China stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, jumping more than 85 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,510-point plateau and it’s called higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to slightly higher, again supported by oil and technology stocks. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourse were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished sharply higher on Tuesday as the financial shares and resource stocks were mostly higher.

For the day, the index improved 37.34 points or 1.07 percent to finish at 3,514.47 after trading between 3,481.14 and 3,522.70. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 18.80 points or 0.77 percent to end at 2,463.85.

Among the actives, Bank of China shed 0.33 percent, while China Construction Bank rose 0.17 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.60 percent, China Life Insurance added 0.61 percent, Jiangxi Copper surged 3.67 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) climbed 1.35 percent, Yanzhou Coal sank 0.75 percent, PetroChina jumped 1.81 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) gained 0.50 percent, China Shenhua Energy improved 0.68 percent, Gemdale lost 0.63 percent, Poly Developments skidded 1.17 percent, China Vanke advanced 0.88 percent, China Fortune Land tumbled 2.78 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of Communications were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened solidly higher on Tuesday but faded as the day progressed, finally finishing with small gains.

The Dow added 30.55 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 35,366.26, while the NASDAQ climbed 77.15 points or 0.52 percent to end at 15,019.80 and the S&P 500 rose 6.70 points or 0.15 percent to close at 4,486.23.

The higher open on Wall Street came hopes that the FDA’s approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine could boost vaccination rates in the U.S. and spur economic growth.

In economic news, the Commerce Department reported a rebound in U.S. new home sales in July.

Investors also are looking ahead to a highly-anticipated speech by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell during the virtual Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday for more clarity on the Fed’s tapering timeline.

Crude oil prices moved higher Tuesday for a second straight session as concerns for energy demand eased signs of falling coronavirus infections in China, India and some other countries. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended up $1.90 or 3 percent at $67.54 a barrel.