China Stock Market May Add To Its Winnings On Friday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market on Thursday halted the six-day losing streak in which it had dropped more than 125 points or 3.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,285-point plateau and it's got a solid lead again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat thanks to an earnings-driven rally among technology stocks. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were sharply higher and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter leads.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Thursday following mixed performances from the financial shares, property stocks and resource companies.

For the day, the index picked up 21.78 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 3,285.88 after trading between 3,253.11 and 3,299.30. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 2.40 points or 0.12 percent to end at 2,027.47.

Among the actives, Bank of China rose 0.27 percent, while China Construction Bank shed 0.47 percent, China Merchants Bank plunged 3.52 percent, Bank of Communications collected 0.36 percent, China Life Insurance surged 6.45 percent, Jiangxi Copper eased 0.15 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) dropped 0.96 percent, Yankuang Energy skidded 1.03 percent, PetroChina lost 0.53 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) strengthened 1.23 percent, Huaneng Power advanced 0.94 percent, China Shenhua Energy perked 0.10 percent, Gemdale declined 1.10 percent, Poly Developments was down 0.07 percent, China Vanke improved 0.81 percent, Beijing Capital Development jumped 1.36 percent and China Fortune Land and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and accelerated as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 524.29 points or 1.57 percent to finish at 33,826.16, while the NASDAQ soared 287.89 points or 2.43 percent to end at 12,142.24 and the S&P 500 jumped 79.36 points or 1.96 percent to close at 4,135.35.

The rally on Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META), which reported better than expected first quarter results and provided upbeat guidance for the current quarter.

Media conglomerate Comcast (CMCSA) also moved sharply higher after reporting first quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates. Big-name companies like eBay (EBAY), Honeywell (HON) and Eli Lilly (LLY) also posted strong gains after reporting their quarterly results.

Meanwhile, traders shrugged off a Commerce Department report showing U.S. economic growth slowed more than expected in the first quarter of 2023. Also, the Labor Department said first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly declined last week.

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Thursday, supported by data showing a drop in crude inventories in the U.S. last week. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.46 or 0.6 percent at $74.76 a barrel.