Higher Open Called For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market bounced higher again on Thursday, one day after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had collected more than 40 points or 1.3 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,155-point plateau and it may see additional support on Friday.

The global forecast is upbeat on an improving outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the properties and resource stocks were capped by weakness from the financial sector.

For the day, the index advanced 25.84 points or 0.83 percent to finish at 3,154.32 after trading between 3,128.16 and 3,158.46. The Shenzhen Composite Index climbed 23.78 points or 1.34 percent to end at 1,796.61.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.55 percent, while Bank of China dropped 0.89 percent, China Construction Bank sank 0.70 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.78 percent, Bank of Communications lost 0.58 percent, China Life Insurance perked 0.06 percent, Jiangxi Copper rallied 2.00 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) soared 3.80 percent, Yankuang Energy was up 0.04 percent, PetroChina was down 0.59 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) fell 0.47 percent, Huaneng Power rose 0.22 percent, China Shenhua Energy skidded 0.73 percent, Gemdale jumped 2.44 percent, Poly Developments surged 2.56 percent and China Vanke climbed 1.39 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened lower on Thursday but quickly bounced higher and spent the rest of the day in positive territory.

The Dow jumped 331.36 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 39,387.76, while the NASDAQ gained 43.46 points or 0.27 percent to close at 16,346.26 and the S&P 500 added 26.41 points or 0.51 percent to end at 5,214.08.

The strength on Wall Street followed the release of a Labor Department report showing a bigger than expected increase by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week.

The data added to recently renewed optimism that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in the coming months.

While the Fed is still widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged in June, the chances rates will be lower by September have reached 89.3 percent, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

Oil prices moved higher on Thursday, lifted by optimism about the outlook for demand and on recent data showing a bigger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.27 at $79.26 a barrel.