BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The China stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than 40 points or 1.3 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,150-point plateau although it's looking at a soft start on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky, matching the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and flat and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished slightly higher on Tuesday following gains from the oil companies and mixed performances from the financials and properties.
For the day, the index rose 7.02 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 3,147.74 after trading between 3,133.69 and 3,151.22. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 4.36 points or 0.24 percent to end at 1,796.77.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.56 percent, while China Construction Bank improved 0.71 percent, China Merchants Bank eased 0.03 percent, Bank of Communications added 0.59 percent, China Life Insurance dipped 0.19 percent, Jiangxi Copper skidded 1.11 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) soared 3.22 percent, Yankuang Energy advanced 0.85 percent, PetroChina strengthened 1.10 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) increased 0.79 percent, Huaneng Power tanked 2.22 percent, China Shenhua Energy gained 0.96 percent, Gemdale shed 0.51 percent, Poly Developments surged 4.98 percent, China Vanke rose 0.80 percent and Bank of China was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened higher but faded to finish mixed and barely changed.
The Dow added 31.99 points or 0.08 percent to finish at 38,884.26, while the NASDAQ slipped 16.69 points or 0.10 percent to close at 16,332.56 and the S&P 500 rose 6.96 points or 0.13 percent to end at 5,187.70.
The modest strength on Wall Street came as stocks continued to benefit from renewed optimism about the outlook for interest rates.
Relatively dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell combined with weaker-than-expected job growth in April have largely eliminated short-lived concerns the Fed might actually consider raising rates.
However, buying interest waned in afternoon trading after Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari suggested interest rates may need to remain at current levels for an 'extended period.'
Oil futures settled slightly lower on Tuesday amid concerns about the outlook for global oil demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended lower by $0.10 at $78.38 a barrel.
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