China Stock Market May Be Stuck In Neutral On Thursday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, advancing more than 85 points or 2.1 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 4,100-point plateau although it may run out of steam on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is unclear, with technology stocks likely under pressure while oil, pharmaceutical and housing stocks offering support. The European and U.S. markets were mixed to lower and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the financial shares, property stocks and oil companies.

For the day, the index gained 34.46 points or 0.85 percent to finish at 4,102.20 after trading between 4,062.68 and 4,104.62. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 8.62 points or 0.32 percent to end at 2,685.46.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China advanced 0.84 percent, while Bank of China expanded 1.33 percent, Agricultural Bank of China perked 0.15 percent, China Merchants Bank jumped 1.85 percent, Bank of Communications climbed 1.21 percent, China Life Insurance improved 0.81 percent, Jiangxi Copper fell 0.32 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) rallied 2.28 percent, Yankuang Energy skyrocketed by the 10 percent daily limit, PetroChina advanced 0.86 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) soared 3.17 percent, Huaneng Power vaulted 1.61 percent, China Shenhua Energy jumped 7.12 percent, Gemdale spiked 6.05 percent, Poly Developments surged 5.74 percent and China Vanke accelerated 4.26 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is murky as the major averages opened mixed but quickly diverged, finally finishing the session on opposite sides of the unchanged line.

The Dow rallied 260.31 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 49,501, while the NASDAQ tumbled 350.61 points or 1.51 percent to end at 22,904.58 and the S&P 500 sank 35.09 points or 0.51 percent to close at 6,882.72.

The advance by the Dow was fueled by stocks like Amgen (AMGN), 3M (MMM) and Nike (NKE), which saw better than expected quarterly results.

Meanwhile, traders continued to rotate out of the tech sector, dragging the NASDAQ lower as semiconductor stocks showed a substantial move to the downside.

In U.S. economic news, payroll processor ADP said private sector employment in the U.S. increased by much less than expected in January. Also, the Institute for Supply Management said its reading on U.S. service sector activity came in unchanged last month.

Crude oil prices surged on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said inventories in the U.S. fell far more than expected. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $1.97 or 3.12 percent at $65.18 per barrel.