China Stock Market Tipped To Open Slightly Higher On Thursday

The China stock market on Wednesday halted the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered more than 90 points or 2.6 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,440-point plateau and it’s expected to remain in that neighborhood again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with support from technology stocks likely offset by weakness from oil companies. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Wednesday following losses from the property stocks and resource companies, while the financials were mixed.

For the day, the index lost 14.76 points or 0.43 percent to finish at 3,441.91 after trading between 3,420.83 and 3,452.21. The Shenzhen Composite Index fell 11.65 points or 0.52 percent to end at 2,217.62.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China climbed 1.09 percent, while Bank of China and China Construction Bank both jumped 1.52 percent, China Merchants Bank dropped 0.89 percent, China Minsheng Bank plummeted 4.17 percent, Bank of Communications collected 1.02 percent, China Life Insurance shed 0.75 percent, Jiangxi Copper tumbled 1.82 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) skidded 1.31 percent, Yanzhou Coal tanked 2.00 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) rose 0.23 percent, China Shenhua Energy retreated 1.42 percent, Gemdale declined 1.07 percent, Poly Developments sank 1.11 percent, China Vanke plunged 4.37 percent and PetroChina was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is conflicted as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, although the Dow fell under pressure as the day progressed and finished in the red.

The Dow dipped 85.41 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 32,981.55, while the NASDAQ surged 201.48 points or 1.54 percent to end at 13,246.87 and the S&P 500 rose 14.34 points or 0.36 percent to close at 3,972.89.

The rally by technology stocks reflected window dressing on the final day of the first quarter as the tech-heavy NASDAQ underperformed the Dow and the S&P. The NASDAQ rose 2.8 percent in Q1, while the Dow jumped 5.8 percent and the S&P spiked 7.8 percent.

A report from payroll processor ADP showing strong private sector job growth in March also generated some positive sentiment. ADP said private sector employment surged up by 517,000 jobs in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 176,000 jobs in February.

Crude oil prices moved sharply lower Wednesday amid concerns about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended down $1.39 or 2.3 percent at $59.16 a barrel.