Bargain Hunting May Lift China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished lower in three straight sessions, plummeting almost 200 points or 6 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,210-point plateau although its due for support on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat, with support expected from the technology and oil stocks, in particular. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The SCI finished sharply lower on Friday following losses from the properties, support from the resource stocks and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index tumbled 51.13 points or 1.57 percent to finish at 3,211.43 after trading between 3,205.78 and 3,273.57. The Shenzhen Composite Index plunged 50.58 points or 2.65 percent to end at 1.856.46.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China lost 1.32 percent, while Bank of China slipped 0.37 percent, China Construction Bank shed 1.40 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.39 percent, Agricultural Bank of China sank 0.96 percent, China Life Insurance dropped 1.26 percent, Jiangxi Copper climbed 1.04 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) rallied 1.39 percent, Yankuang Energy added 0.36 percent, PetroChina advanced 0.91 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) perked 0.15 percent, Huaneng Power rose 0.30 percent, China Shenhua Energy skidded 1.22 percent, Gemdale slumped 1.37 percent, Poly Developments weakened 1.61 percent and China Vanke retreated 1.55 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as the major averages opened higher on Friday and remained in the green throughout the day, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 339.83 points or 0.80 percent to finish at 42,732.13, while the NASDAQ rallied 340.88 points or 1.77 percent to close at 19,621.68 and the S&P 500 climbed 73.92 points or 1.26 percent to end at 5,942.47.

For the holiday-interrupted week, the Dow slid 0.6 percent, while the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 both fell 0.5 percent.

The strength on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following recent weakness. Some traders also remained away from their desks following the New Year's Day holiday on Wednesday.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said manufacturing activity contracted at a slower rate in December.

Oil prices climbed higher Friday amid optimism for the outlook for demand on recent data showing a drop in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February closed higher by $0.83 or 1.13 percent at $73.96 a barrel.