China Stock Market May Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has tracked higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing more than 30 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite now sits just above the 2,735-point plateau and it's expected to open to the upside again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism for the outlook for both the economy and for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion - although there may be profit taking as the day progresses.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the resource and property sectors were capped by weakness from the financial shares.

For the day, the index gained 18.74 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 2,736.02 after trading between 2,697.78 and 2,747.74. The Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 23.27 points or 1.58 percent to end at 1,497.00.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.53 percent, while Bank of China dropped 0.86 percent, China Construction Bank lost 0.69 percent, China Merchants Bank sank 0.93 percent, China Life Insurance fell 0.37 percent, Jiangxi Copper soared 3.33 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) surged 6.08 percent, Yankuang Energy added 0.68 percent, PetroChina perked 0.13 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) skidded 1.10 percent, Huaneng Power strengthened 1.55 percent, China Shenhua Energy slumped 0.63 percent, Gemdale skyrocketed 7.75 percent, Poly Developments accelerated 3.67 percent, China Vanke rallied 4.31 percent and Agricultural Bank of China was unchanged.

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

The Dow surged 522.09 points or 1.26 percent to finish at 42,025.19, while the NASDAQ rallied 440.68 points or 2.51 percent to end at 18,013.98 and the S&P 500 advanced 95.38 points or 1.70 percent to close at 5,713.64.

The rally on Wall Street came as traders continued to digest the Federal Reserve's decision on Wednesday to slash interest rates by half of a percentage point.

Fed officials also forecast continued rate cuts over the coming months and into next year, generating optimism the central bank will be able to engineer a soft landing for the economy.

Adding to the optimism about the economy, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell to a nearly four-month low last week.

Oil prices moved higher on Thursday with rising tensions in the Middle East raising possibility of disruptions in supply. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for October ended up by $1.04 or 1.5 percent at $71.55 a barrel.