China Stock Market Tipped To Extend Friday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Friday halted the four-day losing streak in which it had tumbled almost 95 points or 3.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 2,890-point plateau and it's likely to pick up steam on Monday.

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 that lead.

The SCI finished slightly higher on Friday as gains from the property and resource stocks were capped by weakness from the financial sector.

For the day, the index rose 4.16 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 2,890.90 after trading between 2,875.40 and 2,899.12. The Shenzhen Composite Index rallied 22.18 points or 1.43 percent to end at 1,569.59.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China tumbled 2.15 percent, Bank of China tanked 2.11 percent, China Construction Bank surrendered 2.37 percent, China Merchants Bank retreated 1.40 percent, Bank of Communications stumbled 1.58 percent, China Life Insurance fell 0.46 percent, Jiangxi Copper rallied 2.34 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) spiked 2.56 percent, Yankuang Energy climbed 1.15 percent, PetroChina sank 0.66 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) skidded 1.05 percent, Huaneng Power dipped 0.24 percent, China Shenhua Energy dropped 1.09 percent, Gemdale advanced 1.37 percent, Poly Developments improved 1.25 percent and China Vanke gained 2.09 percent.

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

The Dow surged 654.27 points or 1.64 percent to finish at 40,589.34, while the NASDAQ rallied 176.16 points or 1.03 percent and the S&P 500 gained 59.88 points or 1.11 percent.

For the week, the Dow added 0.8 percent, the NASDAQ slumped 2.1 percent and the S&P fell 0.8 percent.

The strength on Wall Street came as the release of closely watched inflation data by the Commerce Department added to confidence about an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September.

The University of Michigan also released revised data showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated less than previously estimated in July.

Oil prices fell on Friday amid concerns about the outlook for demand due to the economic slowdown in China, while hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza also weighed. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended down $1.12 or 1.4 percent at $77.16 a barrel. WTI crude futures lost 1.9 percent in the week.