Mild Upside Seen For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved higher in two straight sessions, collecting more than 30 points or 0.9 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,285-point plateau and it's likely to remain in that neighborhood again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, fueled by gains from the technology stocks. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mixed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished barely higher on Thursday as gains from the energy companies were offset by weakness from the financials and properties.

For the day, the index perked 0.75 points or 0.02 percent to finish at 3,285.67 after trading between 3,272.41 and 3,295.76. The Shenzhen Composite Index eased 1.10 points or 0.05 percent to end at 2,172.49.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.23 percent, while Bank of China slid 0.31 percent, China Construction Bank dipped 0.18 percent, China Merchants Bank retreated 1.26 percent, Bank of Communications was down 0.21 percent, China Life Insurance eased 0.15 percent, Jiangxi Copper declined 1.22 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) dropped 0.90 percent, Yankuang Energy surged 3.31 percent, PetroChina shed 0.38 percent, Huaneng Power jumped 1.58 percent, China Shenhua Energy gained 0.74 percent, Gemdale sank 0.92 percent, Poly Developments improved 0.38 percent, China Vanke slipped 0.05 percent, Beijing Capital Development plummeted 3.19 percent and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is a dichotomy as the Dow opened sharply lower on Thursday and remained in the red throughout, while the NASDAQ and S&P opened higher and stayed solidly in the green.

The Dow dipped 39.02 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 34,053.94, while the NASDAQ surged 384.50 points or 3.25 percent to end at 12,200.82 and the S&P 500 soared 60.55 points or 1.47 percent to end at 4,179.76.

The surge by the NASDAQ came as Meta Platforms (META) led a tech sector rally, with the Facebook parent skyrocketing by 23.3 percent to a nearly eight-month closing high after reporting better than expected Q4 revenues.

Stocks also continued to benefit from a positive reaction to the Federal Reserve's interest rate announcement on Wednesday, with traders expressing optimism the Fed is nearing the end of its rate hiking cycle.

At the same time, the Dow bucked the uptrend due partly to a notable decline by shares of Merck (MRK), which tumbled by 3.3 percent after the drug giant provided disappointing guidance.

Crude oil prices drifted lower Thursday, weighed down by data showing an increase in U.S. crude inventories last week. The dollar's recovery and uncertainty about the outlook for energy demand due to concerns about a global recession also hurt. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March fell $0.53 or 0.7 percent at $75.88 a barrel.