China Shares May See Continued Strength On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last seven trading days since the end of four-day losing streak in which it had slumped more than 70 points or 2.4 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 2,915-point plateau and it's expected to open in the green again on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic as traders look to add window dressing ahead of the year's end. The European and U.S. markets were slightly higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financials and resource stocks, while the property sector was mixed.

For the day, the index added 15.74 points or 0.54 percent to finish at 2,914.61 after trading between 2,890.17 and 2,917.96. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 9.89 points or 0.56 percent to end at 1,776.51.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 0.21 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.50 percent, China Construction Bank rallied 1.24 percent, China Merchants Bank perked 0.11 percent, Bank of Communications added 0.52 percent, China Life Insurance slumped 1.16 percent, Jiangxi Copper jumped 1.80 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) spiked 2.61 percent, PetroChina accelerated 1.86 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) soared 2.22 percent, Huaneng Power strengthened 1.27 percent, China Shenhua Energy climbed 1.09 percent, Gemdale was up 0.24 percent, Poly Developments sank 0.52 percent and China Vanke and Yankuang Energy were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is mildly positive as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday, slipped in and out of the red before finishing with modest gains.

The Dow climbed 111.19 points or 0.30 percent to finish at a record 37,656.52, while the NASDAQ added 24.60 points or 0.16 percent to close at 15,099.18 and the S&P 500 rose 6.83 points or 0.14 percent to end at 4,781.58.

The uptick by stocks came as treasury yields moved notably lower over the course of the session, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note falling to its lowest level in five months.

Treasury yields saw further downside after the Treasury Department revealed this month's auction of $58 billion worth of five-year notes attracted average demand.

The decrease in treasury yields has added to optimism about the outlook for interest rates, generating renewed buying interest on Wall Street.

Oil prices fell Wednesday on reports that shipping companies have resumed travel via the Suez Canal and Red Sea again after a geopolitical pause. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February sank $1.46 or 1.9 percent at $74.11 a barrel.