(RTTNews) – The China stock market on Thursday ended the three-day winning streak in which it had climbed more than 95 points or 2.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,450-point plateau although it’s expected to rebound on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the properties, gains from the oil companies and a mixed picture from the resource and financial sectors.
For the day, the index slipped 7.52 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 3,448.45 after trading between 3,446.19 and 3,462.62. The Shenzhen Composite Index fell 7.04 points or 0.34 percent to end at 2,044.82.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China added 0.65 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.52 percent, Agricultural Bank of China climbed 1.00 percent, China Merchants Bank improved 0.80 percent, Bank of Communications dipped 0.12 percent, China Life Insurance sank 0.78 percent, Jiangxi Copper rose 0.36 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) increased 0.72 percent, Yankuang Energy shed 0.49 percent, PetroChina gained 0.58 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) gathered 0.53 percent, Huaneng Power dropped 0.82 percent, Gemdale and China Shenhua Energy both slipped 0.27 percent, Poly Developments eased 0.12 percent and China Vanke lost 0.62 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened with mild gains on Thursday but continued to pick up steam throughout the day, ending at session highs and just shy of all-time highs.
The Dow jumped 404.41 points or 0.94 percent to finish at 43,386.84, while the NASDAQ rallied 194.36 points or 0.97 percent to close at 20,167.91 and the S&P 500 gained 48.86 points or 0.80 percent to end at 6,141.02.
The markets continued to benefit from recent upward momentum, which has helped propel the major averages well off their April lows despite lingering uncertainty about tariffs.
The strength on Wall Street also came following the release of a slew of U.S. economic data, including a Labor Department report showing an unexpected decrease by initial jobless claims last week.
Also, revised data released by the Commerce Department showed the U.S. economy shrank by more than previously estimated in the first quarter of 2025, sparking optimism for future rate cuts sooner rather than later.
Crude oil extended its recovery on Thursday amid the ongoing Israel-Iran ceasefire and reports of an increase in fuel demand in the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery closed up by $0.32 to settle at $65.24 per barrel.
Closer to home, China will release May figures for industrial profits later this morning; in April, profits were up 1.4 percent on year.
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