China Stock Market May Add To Friday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the five-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 80 points or 2.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,030-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on an improved outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Friday following mixed performances from the financials, properties, resource stocks and energy companies.

For the day, the index improved 21.39 points or 0.71 percent to finish at 3,030.80 after trading between 3,012.47 and 3,040.98. The Shenzhen Composite Index advanced 21.62 points or 1.17 percent to end at 1,875.00.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped 0.84 percent, while Bank of China retreated 1.52 percent, China Construction Bank shed 0.63 percent, China Merchants Bank climbed 1.01 percent, Bank of Communications sank 0.87 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.65 percent, Jiangxi Copper added 0.44 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) tanked 2,27 percent, PetroChina improved 1.10 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) fell 0.36 percent, Huaneng Power gained 0.66 percent, China Shenhua Energy slipped 0.39 percent, Poly Developments slumped 0.83 percent, China Vanke rose 0.45 percent and Yankuang Energy and Gemdale were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Friday and remained in the green throughout the session.

The Dow surged 222.22 points or 0.66 percent to finish at 34,061.32, while the NASDAQ jumped 184.08 points or 1.38 percent to end at 13,478.28 and the S&P 600 gained 40.56 points or 0.95 percent to close at 4,358.34.

For the week, the NASDAQ skyrocketed 6.6 percent, the S&P 500 soared 5.9 percent and the Dow spiked 5.1 percent.

The continued strength on Wall Street reflected a positive reaction to a Labor Department report showing U.S. employment rose less than expected in October.

The data added to optimism the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates after the central bank left rates unchanged for the third time in four meetings last week.

Treasury yields also extended a recent slump following the release of the report, adding to the buying interest on Wall Street.

Crude oil moved sharply lower on Friday on worries about the outlook for energy demand. West Texas Intermediate for December delivery tumbled $1.95 or 2.4 percent to $80.51 a barrel.