China Stock Market May Stop The Bleeding On Friday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has tracked lower in two straight sessions, sinking more than 20 points or 0.6 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just shy of the 3,075-point plateau although it may find traction on Friday.

The global forecast for the oversold Asian markets is upbeat, with bargain hunting on the docket as window dressing before the end of the year. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian markets are tipped to follow suit.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Thursday following losses from the financials, properties and resource stocks.

For the day, the index dropped 13.70 points or 0.44 percent to finish at 3,073.70 after trading between 3,064.46 and 3,086.00.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.46 percent, while Bank of China fell 0.32 percent, China Construction Bank slid 0.36 percent, China Merchants Bank eased 0.27 percent, Bank of Communications sank 0.84 percent, China Life Insurance lost 0.62 percent, Jiangxi Copper skidded 1.02 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) plunged 3.04 percent, Yankuang Energy tanked 2.31 percent, PetroChina declined 1.78 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) tumbled 1.81 percent, Huaneng Power perked 0.13 percent, China Shenhua Energy surrendered 2.10 percent, Gemdale retreated 2.41 percent, Poly Developments stumbled 2.34 percent, China Vanke slumped 2.26 percent and Beijing Capital Development plummeted 5.30 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened sharply higher and remained firmly elevated throughout the day, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 345.09 points or 1.05 percent to finish at 33,220.80, while the NASDAQ spiked 264.80 points or 2.59 percent to end at 10,478.09 and the S&P 500 advanced 66.06 points or 1.75 percent to close at 3,849.28.

The rally on Wall Street partly reflected bargain hunting, particularly among tech stocks, which moved sharply lower over the two preceding sessions.

Overall trading activity remained subdued amid the holidays, however, with below average volume potentially exaggerating recent moves.

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by slightly more than expected in the week ended December 24.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Thursday, weighed down by data showing an increase in U.S. crude inventories last week, although a weak dollar limited oil's downside. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended lower by $0.56 at $78.40 a barrel.