Win Streak Expected To Continue For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, accelerating more than 75 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,300-point plateau and it's got another positive lead for Thursday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with technology stocks expected to lead the way higher. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian markets are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financials, weakness from the properties and a mixed picture from the resource and energy companies.

For the day, the index collected 25.29 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 3,304.72 after trading between 3,287.74 and 3,308.35. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 15.54 points or 0.71 percent to end at 2,210.46.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China climbed 1.14 percent, while Bank of China strengthened 1.32 percent, China Construction Bank improved 1.07 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.39 percent, Bank of Communications added 0.66 percent, China Life Insurance jumped 1.58 percent, Jiangxi Copper rose 0.23 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) dropped 0.86 percent, Yankuang Energy advanced 0.87 percent, PetroChina improved 0.77 percent, Huaneng Power retreated 1.63 percent, China Shenhua Energy skidded 1.13 percent, Gemdale fell 0.44 percent, Poly Developments sank 0.91 percent, China Vanke dipped 0.22 percent, China Fortune Land slumped 1.02 percent, Beijing Capital Development was up 0.23 percent and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) and China Minsheng Bank were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened mixed and remained that way through much of the session before a late rally pushed them all into the green by the close.

The Dow added 47.79 points or 0.15 percent to finish at 31,874.84, while the NASDAQ surged 184.50 points or 1.58 percent to end at 11,897.65 and the S&P 500 rose 23.21 points or 0.59 percent to close at 3,959.90.

The jump by the NASDAQ reflected strength among tech stocks, which came amid a positive reaction to earnings news from Netflix (NFLX). Semiconductor stocks also turned in a strong performance on the day, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiking by 2.5 percent.

On the other hand, gold stocks came under pressure over the course of the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 3.1 percent. The weakness among gold stocks came as the price of gold for August delivery fell $10.50 to $1,700.20 an ounce.

In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales tumbled by much more than expected in June.

Crude oil futures settled lower Wednesday amid concerns about the outlook for gasoline demand during the summer driving season. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August ended lower by $1.96 or 1.9 percent at $102.26 a barrel on the expiration day.