China Stock Market May Add To Its Winnings On Friday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting more than 15 points or 0.4 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,400-point plateau and it's expected to see continued strength on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is murky amidst conflicting economic data, trade updates and geopolitical events. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were slightly higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SCI finished barely higher on Thursday as gains from the oil companies were offset by weakness from the property sector and a mixed picture from the financials.

For the day, the index rose 0.34 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 3,402.66 after trading between 3,388.87 and 3,408.20. The Shenzhen Composite Index perked 3.04 points or 0.15 percent to end at 2,027.54.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dipped 0.14 percent, while Agricultural Bank of China collected 0.18 percent, China Merchants Bank fell 0.18 percent, Bank of Communications perked 0.13 percent, China Life Insurance improved 0.79 percent, Jiangxi Copper added 0.67 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) shed 0.29 percent, Yankuang Energy sank 0.77 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) and PetroChina both gained 0.34 percent, Huaneng Power lost 0.69 percent, China Shenhua Energy tumbled 1.71 percent, Gemdale retreated 1.58 percent, Poly Developments was down 0.25 percent, China Vanke dropped 0.91 percent and Bank of China was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened lower on Thursday before finally ticking up into the green to finish slightly higher.

The Dow climbed 101.85 points or 0.24 percent to finish at 42,967.62, while the NASDAQ added 46.61 points or 0.24 percent to close at 19,662.48 and the S&P 500 rose 23.02 points or 0.38 percent to end at 6,045.26.

The turnaround on Wall Street comes as traders digest the latest U.S. inflation data, with a report from the Labor Department showing producer prices crept up by less than expected in May.

Stocks moved lower earlier in the day due in part to lingering uncertainty about trade amid a lack of details about the U.S.-China trade deal announced on Wednesday.

Crude oil futures showed a modest move back to the downside during trading on Thursday, with profit taking limited by rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran over the latter's nuclear developments. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery eased $0.11 to $68.04 per barrel.