Stimulus May Boost China Shares Again On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, accelerating almost 65 points or 2.4 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,820-point plateau and it may add to its winnings again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher and will be dependent on earnings news. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished sharply higher on Wednesday with bargain hunting across the board, especially among the financials, properties and resource companies.

For the day, the index jumped 49.80 points or 1.80 percent to finish at 2,820.77 after trading between 2,743.40 and 2,823.70. The Shenzhen Composite Index advanced 20.27 points or 1.25 percent to end at 1,646.86.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 1.64 percent, while Bank of China soared 3.02 percent, China Construction Bank jumped 2.00 percent, China Merchants Bank rose 0.33 percent, Bank of Communications strengthened 1.57 percent, China Life Insurance surged 5.27 percent, Jiangxi Copper accelerated 2.94 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) skyrocketed 5.19 percent, Yankuang Energy rallied 3.36 percent, PetroChina improved 3.57 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) advanced 3.41 percent, Huaneng Power climbed 2.42 percent, China Shenhua Energy gained 2.94 percent, Gemdale increased 3.27 percent, Poly Developments added 2.63 percent and China Vanke rose 2.51 percent.

The lead from Wall Street suggests mild upside as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and largely stayed that way, although the Dow slipped into the red by the close.

The Dow dropped 99.06 points or 0.26 percent to finish at 37,806.39, while the NASDAQ gained 55.97 points or 0.36 percent to end at 15,481.92 and the S&P 500 perked 3.95 points or 0.08 percent to close at a fresh record high of 4,868.55.

Technology stocks helped lead the way higher in early trading on Wall Street, with shares of Netflix (NFLX) soaring by 10.7 percent after the streaming giant reported better than expected fourth quarter revenues.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, reflecting renewed interest rate concerns amid a rebound by treasury yields. Yields moved lower early in the session but bounced higher following some upbeat U.S. economic data and a disappointing five-year note auction.

Oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday on data showing a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories, while a weak dollar also contributed to the increase in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March added $0.72 or nearly 1 percent at $75.09 a barrel.