Higher Open Predicted For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Wednesday ended the five-day losing streak in which it had stumbled almost 80 points or 2.7 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 2,970-point plateau and it's looking at additional support on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat ahead of key economic data in the coming days. The European markets were slightly lower and the U.S. bourses saw mild gains and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares and insurance companies, while the properties and energy stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index gained 22.53 points or 0.76 percent to finish at 2,972.53 after trading between 2,933.33 and 2,976.67. The Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 32.44 points or 2.02 percent to end at 1,641.47.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.54 percent, while Bank of China improved 0.66 percent, China Construction Bank rose 0.41 percent, China Merchants Bank sank 0.70 percent, Bank of Communications advanced 0.69 percent, China Life Insurance added 0.39 percent, Ping An Insurance rose 0.24 percent, Jiangxi Copper fell 0.37 percent, PetroChina retreated 1.22 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) gained 0.65 percent, China Shenhua Energy shed 0.41 percent, Gemdale dipped 0.29 percent, Poly Developments stumbled 1.49 percent, China Vanke climbed 1.13 percent and Aluminum Corporation of China (Chalco) was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened lower on Wednesday and spent most of the day hugging the line before a late push nudged them into the green.

The Dow rose 15.64 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 39,127.80, while the NASDAQ gained 87.50 points or 0.49 percent to close at 17,805.16 and the S&P 500 added 8.50 points or 0.16 percent to end at 5,477.90.

The uncertainty on Wall Street came as investors braced for the release of key U.S. inflation data later this week for clues on the outlook for interest rates.

Bank stocks were in focus ahead of the central bank's annual stress test, while shares of energy firms struggled a bit due to sluggish oil prices.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said new home sales in the U.S. saw a substantial decrease in the month of May, while building permits also slumped.

Crude oil futures fell on Wednesday after data showed a notable increase in crude inventories in the U.S. last week but recovered and eventually ended the day's session slightly higher. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August rose $0.07 at $80.90 a barrel.