China Stock Market May Add To Its Winnings On Monday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, collecting more than 35 points or 0.9 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,950-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green on Monday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the resource stocks, weakness from the properties and oil companies and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index improved 27.90 points or 0.71 percent to finish at the daily high of 3,950.31 after trading as low as 3,928.96. The Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 33.46 points or 1.36 percent to end at 2,491.35.

Among the actives, Bank of China collected 0.73 percent, while China Merchants Bank shed 0.69 percent, Bank of Communications added 0.42 percent, China Life Insurance fell 0.20 percent, Jiangxi Copper surged 5.28 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) rallied 2.10 percent, Yankuang Energy gained 0.47 percent, PetroChina retreated 1.31 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) shed 0.36 percent, Huaneng Power tanked 2.45 percent, China Shenhua Energy improved 0.66 percent, Gemdale slumped 1.23 percent, Poly Developments dipped 0.27 percent, China Vanke was down 0.31 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is strong as the major averages opened solidly higher on Friday and remained well in the green throughout the trading day and all hit fresh record closing highs.

The Dow jumped 472.52 points or 1.01 percent to finish at 47,207.12, while the NASDAQ rallied 263.07 points or 1.15 percent to end at 23,204.87 and the S&P 500 added 53.25 points or 0.79 percent to close at 6,791.69.

The rally on Wall Street followed the release of a closely watched report on consumer price inflation that increased confidence that the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates in the coming months.

While most U.S. economic data has been postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing government shutdown, the Labor Department released a report showing consumer prices increased less than expected in September.

Buying interest was also generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news from big-name companies like Ford (F), Procter & Gamble (PG) and Intel (INTC).

Crude oil prices dipped Friday on profit taking following large gains a day earlier. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery slipped $0.17 or 0.3 percent to $61.62 per barrel; for the week, crude surged 7.8 percent.

Closer to home, China will see September numbers for industrial profits later this morning; in August, profits were up 0.9 percent on year.