China Stock Market May Extend Winning Streak

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has tracked higher in five straight sessions, gathering more than 65 points or 2.2 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,310-point plateau and it's got a positive lead again for Friday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to higher, ahead of closely watched employment data from the U.S. later today. The European and U.S. bourses saw mild upside and the Asian markets figure to follow suit.

The SCI finished barely higher on Thursday following gains from the oil companies, losses from the properties and a mixed picture from the financial sector.

For the day, the index rose 0.07 points or 0.00 percent to finish at 3,312.63 after trading between 3,296.05 and 3,314.53. The Shenzhen Composite Index dipped 0.78 points or 0.04 percent to end at 2,138.58.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China perked 0.22 percent, while Bank of China rose 0.29 percent, China Construction Bank eased 0.17 percent, China Merchants Bank retreated 1.40 percent, Bank of Communications collected 0.58 percent, China Life Insurance declined 1.28 percent, Jiangxi Copper improved 0.71 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) climbed 1.06 percent, Yankuang Energy plunged 3.36 percent, PetroChina was up 0.16 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) increased 0.35 percent, Huaneng Power fell 0.36 percent, China Shenhua Energy dropped 1.03 percent, Gemdale slid 0.23 percent, Poly Developments was down 0.27 percent, China Vanke sank 0.73 percent and China Fortune Land slumped 0.82 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages shook off early weakness to move higher and end in the green.

The Dow perked 2.57 points or 0.01 percent to finish at 33,485.29, while the NASDAQ jumped 91.09 points or 0.76 percent to end at 12,087.96 and the S&P 500 rose 14.64 added 14.64 points or 0.36 percent to close at 4,105.02.

The markets are closed on Good Friday; for the holiday-shortened week, the Dow climbed by 0.6 percent, while the S&P 500 eased 0.1 percent and the tech-heavy NASDAQ slumped 1.1 percent.

The early weakness on Wall Street reflected lingering concerns about the economic outlook following disappointing data. The Labor Department noted a drop in initial jobless claims last week.

Selling pressure waned shortly after the start of trading, however, as traders seem reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department's more closely watched employment report later today.

Crude oil futures settled slightly higher Thursday and posted gains for a third straight week, buoyed by OPEC's decision to cut production. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $0.09 at $80.70 a barrel. WTI crude rose gained more than 6 percent this week.