China Bourse May Extend Wednesday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has alternated between positive and negative finishes through the last four trading days since the end of the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 100 points or 2.5 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 4,240-point plateau and it may see additional support on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic on hopes for an end to the hostilities in the Middle East. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were mostly higher and the Asian markets are also expected to track to the upside.

The SCI finished modestly higher on Wednesday following gains from the resource stocks, weakness from the properties and a mixed performance from the financial and energy shares.

For the day, the index added 28.08 points or 0.67 percent to finish at 4,242.57 after trading between 4,192.31 and 4,245.07. The Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 45.10 points or 1.55 percent to end at 2,949.07.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China skidded 1.09 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.46 percent, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of Communications both perked 0.15 percent, China Merchants Bank eased 0.05 percent, China Life Insurance tanked 2.88 percent, Jiangxi Copper jumped 1.87 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) vaulted 1.63 percent, Yankuang Energy slumped 1.28 percent, PetroChina shed 0.63 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dropped 0.58 percent, Huaneng Power gained 0.79 percent, China Shenhua Energy sank 0.88 percent, Gemdale cratered 2.56 percent, Poly Developments contracted 1.66 percent and China Vanke stumbled 2.68 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is mixed to higher as the major averages opened mixed but trended higher throughout the session, finally finishing mixed.

The Dow shed 67.36 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 49,693.20, while the NASDAQ rallied 314.14 points of 1.20 percent to end at a record 26,402.34 and the S&P 500 gained 43.29 points or 0.58 percent to close at 7,444.25, also a record.

The mixed performance on Wall Street followed the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. shot up much more than expected in April, marking the largest jump since March 2022.

Following the data, interest rate-sensitive utilities and housing stocks showed significant moves to the downside on the day.

The rally by the NASDAQ reflected substantial strength among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.6 percent surge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Crude oil prices pulled back on Wednesday as the upcoming negotiations between the presidents of the U.S. and China have increased expectations of an end to the U.S.-Iran standoff despite OPEC and IEA oil forecast reports warning of a supply-demand mismatch. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was down $1.04 or 1.02 percent at $101.14 per barrel.