China Stock Market May See Additional Support On Friday

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, collecting almost 10 points or 0.25 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 4,120-point plateau and it's got a firm lead again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on easing geopolitical tensions regarding Greenland. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are expected to follow that lead.

The SCI finished slightly higher on Thursday following gains from the energy companies, weakness from the financials and a mixed picture from the property sector.

For the day, the index rose 5.64 points or 0.14 percent to finish at 4,122.58 after trading between 4,109.92 and 4,140.84. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 18.61 points or 0.69 percent to end at 2,713.51.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China skidded 1.09 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.56 percent, Agricultural Bank of China stumbled 2.16 percent, China Merchants Bank dropped 1.02 percent, Bank of Communications dipped 0.15 percent, China Life Insurance tanked 2.13 percent, Jiangxi Copper plunged 3.04 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) sank 0.90 percent, Yankuang Energy jumped 1.52 percent, PetroChina rallied 1.50 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) soared 4.19 percent, Huaneng Power fell 0.27 percent, China Shenhua Energy climbed 1.42 percent, Gemdale rose 0.31 percent, Poly Developments vaulted 1.23 percent and China Vanke slumped 1.20 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is firm as the major averages opened higher on Thursday and spent the entire session in the green.

The Dow jumped 306.78 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 49,384.01, while the NASDAQ climbed 211.20 points or 0.91 percent to end at 23,436.02 and the S&P 500 added 37.73 points or 0.55 percent to close at 6,913.35.

The extended rebound on Wall Street came as stocks continued to benefit from easing tensions after President Donald Trump ruled out the use of military force to acquire Greenland.

Some analysts see the strength on Wall Street as a return of the "TACO trade," meaning "Trump Always Chickens Out," as the president is often seen as backing down after scaring the markets with threats of new tariffs.

In economic news, the Labor Department noted a slight uptick in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, the Commerce Department said consumer prices increased in line with estimates in November.

Crude oil prices plunged on Thursday as investors assessed data on U.S. crude oil inventories, which shot up much more than expected last week. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was down $1.29 or 2.13 percent at $59.33 per barrel.