China Stock Market May Test Resistance At 3,400 Points

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Thursday ended the two-day slide in which it had stumbled more than 50 points or 1.5 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,365-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with support expected from the oil and technology sectors. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished slightly higher on Thursday as gains from the resource and energy companies were offset by weakness from the financials and properties.

For the day, the index gained 9.05 points or 0.27 percent to finish at 3,364.40 after trading between 3,332.31 and 3,375.86. The Shenzhen Composite Index climbed 20.47 points or 0.93 percent to end at 2,227.66.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.42 percent, while China Construction Bank rose 0.16 percent, China Merchants Bank eased 0.13 percent, Bank of Communications dipped 0.20 percent, China Life Insurance skidded 1.11 percent, Jiangxi Copper jumped 1.75 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) advanced 0.86 percent, Yankuang Energy climbed 1.29 percent, PetroChina declined 1.15 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) fell 0.25 percent, Huaneng Power rallied 2.66 percent, China Shenhua Energy spiked 2.63 percent, Gemdale was up 0.16 percent, Poly Developments lost 0.68 percent, China Vanke retreated 1.44 percent, China Fortune Land slumped 1.55 percent and Bank of China was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened solidly higher on Thursday and stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow spiked 346.87 points or 1.12 percent to finish at 31,384.55, while the NASDAQ surged 259.49 points or 2.28 percent to end at 11,621.35 and the S&P 500 jumped 57.54 points or 1.50 percent to close at 3,902.62.

The higher open on Wall Street came as traders continued to digest the minutes from the Federal Reserve's June meeting, which all but assured another significant rate hike in the Fed's bid to bring down inflation.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit narrowed less than expected in May, while the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims rose more than expected.

The closely watched non-farm payroll report for June is due out from the Labor Department later today.

Crude oil futures settled higher on Thursday, regaining ground after two days of losses. Data showing a decline in gasoline supply last week, and the dollar's weakness supported oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended higher by $4.20 or 4.3 percent at $102.73 a barrel.