China Stock Markt May Reverse Thursday's Losses

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved lower in two of three trading days since the end of the three-day winning streak in which it had improved almost 90 points or 2.8 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,330-point plateau and it figures to move back to the upside again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on easing concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets were mostly in the green and the Asian bourses are expected to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished modestly lower on Thursday as losses from the oil, resource and insurance companies were mitigated by support from the financials and properties.

For the day, the index shed 13.90 points or 0.42 percent to finish at the daily low of 3,332.48 after peaking at 3,359.18. The Shenzhen Composite Index sank 15.73 points or 0.77 percent to end at 2,018.24.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China advanced 0.87 percent, while Bank of China perked 0.19 percent, China Construction Bank collected 0.57 percent, China Merchants Bank rose 0.22 percent, Agricultural Bank of China added 0.39 percent, China Life Insurance shed 0.42 percent, Jiangxi Copper dipped 0.18 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) retreated 1.69 percent, Yankuang Energy jumped 1.75 percent, PetroChina lost 0.60 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) sank 0.49 percent, Huaneng Power gained 0.63 percent, China Shenhua Energy fell 0.29 percent, Gemdale soared 3.33 percent, China Vanke was up 0.13 percent and Poly Developments was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is strong as the major averages opened slightly higher on Thursday but only continued to strengthen as the day progressed, ending near session highs.

The Dow jumped 342.87 points or 0.77 percent to finish at 44,711.43, while the NASDAQ surged 295.69 points or 1.50 percent to close at 19,945.64 and the S&P 500 rallied 63.10 points or 1.04 percent to end at 6,115.07.

The rally on Wall Street came after the Labor Department released its report on producer price inflation in January. While the headline number rose by more than expected, components of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation reading were relatively tame.

The data helped to ease concerns about the outlook for interest rates after Wednesday's consumer price numbers came in hitter than expected.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by slightly more than expected last week.