China Stock Market May Halt Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in four straight sessions, sinking more than 45 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,240-point plateau although it's due for support on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive, with strength expected from the technology and banking stocks. The European and U.S. markets were firmly higher and the Asian bourses are expected to follow suit.

The SCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the resource stocks and mixed performances from the financials and properties.

For the day, the index dipped 5.32 points or 0.16 percent to finish at 3,240.06 after trading between 3,229.58 and 3,254.56. The Shenzhen Composite Index eased 1.00 point or 0.05 percent to end at 2,103.37.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.45 percent, while Bank of China rose 0.30 percent, China Construction Bank dipped 0.17 percent, China Merchants Bank dropped 0.81 percent, China Life Insurance added 0.59 percent, Jiangxi Copper shed 0.56 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) sank 0.74 percent, Yankuang Energy fell 0.41 percent, PetroChina skidded 1.06 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) retreated 1.62 percent, Huaneng Power perked 0.24 percent, China Shenhua Energy lost 0.40 percent, Gemdale slid 0.24 percent, Poly Developments climbed 1.07 percent, China Vanke perked 0.26 percent, China Fortune Land slumped 1.22 percent and Bank of Communications was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened sharply higher and stayed that way throughout the session.

The Dow jumped 323.35 points or 1.00 percent to finish at 32,717.60, while the NASDAQ surged 210.16 points or 1.79 percent to end at 11,926.24 and the S&P 500 spiked 56.54 points or 1.42 percent to end at 4,027.81.

The rally on Wall Street reflected a rebound by technology stocks, with the tech-heavy NASDAQ recovering from the pullback seen early in the week to hit its best closing level in over a month.

Semiconductor stocks led the recovery in the tech sector, driving the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 3.3 percent. Considerable strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 2.9 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

The markets also benefited from a continued easing of concerns about contagion from the recent turmoil in the banking sector.

Oil futures failed to hold early gains and ended modestly lower on Wednesday, despite data showing a drop in crude stockpiles last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May faded $0.23 or 0.3 percent at $72.97 a barrel, coming off a high of $74.37 a barrel.