China Bourse May Extend Thursday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Thursday snapped the five-day losing streak in which it had surrendered almost 50 points or 1.5 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,365-point plateau and it may see additional support on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed, with tariff concerns continuing to linger. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the resource and property stocks were capped by weakness from the financial sector and oil companies.

For the day, the index gained 23.51 points or 0.70 percent to finish at 3,363.45 after trading between 3,337.42 and 3,368.63. The Shenzhen Composite Index rallied 27.59 points or 1.40 percent to end at 1,993.04.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Huaneng Power both eased 0.14 percent, while Bank of China slumped 0.36 percent, Agricultural Bank of China slipped 0.18 percent, China Merchants Bank lost 0.48 percent, Bank of Communications shed 0.53 percent, China Life Insurance was down 0.03 percent, Jiangxi Copper gained 0.47 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) strengthened 1.23 percent, Yankuang Energy added 0.39 percent, PetroChina fell 0.36 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) skidded 1.04 percent, China Shenhua Energy dipped 0.05 percent, Gemdale climbed 1.03 percent, Poly Developments gathered 0.37 percent and China Vanke rose 0.30 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday, faded midday but bounced higher into the close.

The Dow climbed 117.03 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 42,215.73, while the NASDAQ added 74.93 points or 0.39 percent to close at 19,175.87 and the S&P 500 rose 23.62 points or 0.40 percent to end at 5,912.17.

Early buying interest was generated in reaction to news that a federal court blocked President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs on imports from U.S. trade partners from going into effect.

But the Trump administration immediately appealed the decision, and an appeals court temporarily paused the lower court's ruling later in the day.

A positive reaction to earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA) also contributed to initial strength on Wall Street after the company reported fiscal first quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Crude oil futures moved sharply lower Thursday amid lingering supply concerns amid the possibility OPEC may accelerate oil production hikes in July. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery tumbled $0.90 or 1.5 percent to $60.94 a barrel.