(RTTNews) – The China stock market ticked higher again on Thursday, one day after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had risen almost 25 points or 0.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,300-point plateau and it may see additional support on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with oil and technology stocks expected to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets finished solidly higher and the Asian bourses are also expected to open in the green.
The SCI finished barely higher on Thursday as gains from the properties and financials were offset by weakness from the resource stocks.
For the day, the index perked 0.93 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 3,297.29 after trading between 3,286.24 and 3,313.51. The Shenzhen Composite Index sank 13.72 points or 0.71 percent to end at 1,909.66.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China jumped 1.83 percent, while Bank of China accelerated 2.10 percent, Agricultural Bank of China spiked 2.01 percent, China Merchants Bank gained 0.52 percent, Bank of Communications improved 1.46 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.90 percent, Jiangxi Copper skidded 1.05 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) shed 0.61 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) added 0.35 percent, Huaneng Power rallied 1.41 percent, China Shenhua Energy climbed 1.04 percent, Gemdale strengthened 1.22 percent, Poly Developments rose 0.23 percent, China Vanke perked 0.14 percent and PetroChina and Yankuang Energy were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened mixed but quickly moved sharply higher, finishing near daily highs.
The Dow spiked 486.83 points or 1.23 percent to finish at 40,093.40, while the NASDAQ rallied 457.99 points or 2.74 percent to close at 17,166.04 and the S&P 500 jumped 108.91 points or 2.03 percent to end at 5,484.77.
Semiconductor stocks turned in some of the best performances on the day, resulting in a 5.6 percent spike by Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Texas Instruments (TXN) and Lam Research (LRCX) fueled the rally on better than expected quarterly earnings.
Later in the day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. may reach “an agreement on understanding” on trade with South Korea “as soon as next week.”
On the economic front, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits edged modestly higher last week. Also, the Commerce Department said new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged much more than expected in March
Crude oil showed a modest move back to the upside on Thursday following the steep drop in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery rose $0.16 or 0.3 percent to $62.43 a barrel after plunging $1.40 or 2.2 percent to $62.27 a barrel a day earlier.
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