China Stock Market May Spin Its Wheels On Friday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished higher in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day slide in which it had stumbled more than 80 points or 2.7 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,885-point plateau and it's likely to remain in that neighborhood again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed and flat to lower following U.S. inflation data. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed and little changed and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the properties were offset by weakness from the financials and resource stocks.

For the day, the index added 8.95 points or 0.31 percent to finish at 2,886.65 after trading between 2,867.72 and 2,896.18. The Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 28.03 points or 1.62 percent to end at 1,760.77.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China retreated 1.44 percent, while Bank of China stumbled 1.49 percent, China Construction Bank declined 1.22 percent, China Merchants Bank climbed 1.18 percent, Bank of Communications slumped 1.54 percent, China Life Insurance collected 0.23 percent, Jiangxi Copper eased 0.06 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) dropped 0.91 percent, Yankuang Energy tumbled 1.71 percent, PetroChina surrendered 2.43 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) plummeted 2.55 percent, Huaneng Power plunged 2.45 percent, China Shenhua Energy skidded 1.77 percent, Gemdale added 0.72 percent, Poly Developments gained 0.44 percent and China Vanke rose 0.21 percent.

The lead from Wall Street offers little clarity as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but quickly plummeted deep into the red before rallying to finish mixed and flat.

The Dow rose 15.29 points or 0.04 percent to finish at 37,711.02, while the NASDAQ perked 0.54 points or 0.00 percent to close at 14,970.18 and the S&P 500 slipped 3.21 points or 0.07 percent to end at 4,780.24.

The early downturn on Wall Street came as traders digested the Labor Department's highly anticipated report on consumer price inflation in December, which showed prices rose slightly more than expected.

A number of economists have said the data makes the Federal Reserve less likely to cut interest rates in March, with many predicting the central bank will hold off until its May meeting.

The late-day recovery attempt on Wall Street also came as treasury yields showed a notable move to the downside after showing a lack of direction for much of the day.

Oil futures settled higher on Thursday as prices rebounded on likely disruptions in trade and supplies after Iran seized a tanker with Iraqi crude marked for delivery to Turkey. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended higher by $0.65 at $72.02 a barrel.

Closer to home, China is scheduled to release a raft of data later this morning, including December figures for inflation, imports, exports and trade balance.

Overall inflation is expected to add 0.2 percent on month and fall 0.4 percent on year after sinking 0.5 percent both on month and on year in November. Producer prices are expected to slide 2.6 percent on year after shedding 3.0 percent in the previous month.

Imports are expected to add 0.3 percent on year after sinking 0.3 percent in November. Exports are called higher by an annual 1.7 percent after rising 0.5 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at $76.20 billion, up from $68.39 billion a month earlier.