China Stock Market May Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering almost 50 points or 1.6 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,305-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting expected after brutal selling over the past week. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are predicted to follow suit.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday as gains from the financials and properties were capped by weakness from the resource companies.

For the day, the index gained 16.50 points or 0.50 percent to finish at 3,305.41 after trading between 3,288.85 and 3,358.55. The Shenzhen Composite Index advanced 9.88 points or 0.47 percent to end at 2,098.99.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 0.21 percent, while China Construction Bank collected 0.67 percent, China Merchants Bank spiked 3.16 percent, Bank of Communications added 0.40 percent, China Life Insurance skyrocketed 9.99 percent, Jiangxi Copper eased 0.11 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) jumped 1.81 percent, Yankuang Energy plunged 3.55 percent, PetroChina retreated 1.29 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dropped 0.94 percent, Huaneng Power lost 0.65 percent, China Shenhua Energy tanked 2.35 percent, Gemdale rallied 2.66 percent, Poly Developments surged 4.82 percent, China Vanke soared 3.32 percent, China Fortune Land declined 1.74 percent, Beijing Capital Development improved 0.63 percent and Bank of China was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened solidly higher on Wednesday and remained in the green throughout the day, finishing near session highs.

The Dow climbed 303.70 points or 1.00 percent to finish at 30,668.53, while the NASDAQ surged 270.81 points or 2.50 percent to end at 11,099.15 and the S&P 500 jumped 54.51 points or 1.46 percent to close at 3,789.99.

The rally on Wall Street came even as the Federal Reserve announced the biggest increase in interest rates in almost 30 years. The Fed raised the target rate for the federal funds rate by 75 basis points to 1.50 to 1.75 percent, marking the biggest rate hike since 1994.

The widely expected move by the Fed comes as a recent report from the Labor Department showed consumer price inflation at the fastest annual rate in 40 years. Citing its goals of maximum employment and inflation at a rate of 2 percent over the longer run, the Fed also indicated that further rate hikes are likely to be appropriate.

In economic news, the Commerce Department noted an unexpected decrease in U.S. retail sales in May, while a separate report showed U.S. import prices increased by less than expected. Also, the National Association of Home Builders said homebuilder confidence fell to its lowest level since June 2020.

Crude oil prices slumped on Wednesday after data showed a jump in oil inventories in the U.S. last week, and the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by a sharp 0.75 percent. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures dropped by $2.21 or 1.8 percent to $116.72 a barrel.