China Stock Market May Be Stuck In Neutral On Monday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market ticked higher again on Friday, one day after ending the three-day winning streak in which it had improved more than 35 points or 1.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,050-point plateau and it's likely to remain rangebound again on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets remains upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.

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

For the day, the index perked 3.44 points or 0.11 percent to finish at 3,054.37 after trading between 3,033.75 and 3,055.86. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 8.50 points or 0.44 percent to end at 1,923.96.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.42 percent, while Bank of China lost 0.50 percent, China Construction Bank fell 0.31 percent, China Merchants Bank sank 0.69 percent, Bank of Communications slumped 0.52 percent, China Life Insurance eased 0.16 percent, Jiangxi Copper rose 0.28 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) added 0.34 percent, Yankuang Energy declined 0.65 percent, PetroChina retreated 1.26 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dropped 0.73 percent, Huaneng Power rallied 1.45 percent, China Shenhua Energy perked 0.10 percent, Gemdale skidded 1.09 percent, Poly Developments was down 0.91 percent and China Vanke stumbled 1.53 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages opened lower on Friday but broke into the green by midday and finished with mild gains.

The Dow rose 1.78 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 34,947.28, while the NASDAQ added 11.78 points or 0.08 percent to close at 14,125.48 and the S&P 500 gained 5.78 points or 0.13 percent to end at 4,514.02.

For the week, the NASDAQ surged 2.4 percent, the S&P jumped 2.2 percent and the Row rallied 1.9 percent.

Optimism about the outlook for interest rates has contributed to the recent advance, as the latest data has shown signs of easing inflation.

In economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing an unexpected increase in new residential construction and building permits in October.

Crude oil futures spiked on Friday, but the most active futures contract still posted its fourth straight weekly loss amid concerns about the outlook for near term energy demand. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December jumped $2.99 or 4.1 percent at $75.89 a barrel. WTI crude futures shed 4 percent in the week.