(RTTNews) - The China stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, advancing almost 125 points or 3.8 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,485-point plateau although it's likely to run out steam on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is negative on growing concerns over the outlook for interest rates. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourse were sharply lower and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished slightly higher on Thursday following gains from the financials, properties and resource stocks.
For the day, the index was up 5.96 points or 0.17 percent to finish at 3,485.91 after trading between 3,464.22 and 3,488.86. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 14.76 points or 0.64 percent to end at 2,302.47.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.41 percent, while Bank of China advanced 0.95 percent, China Construction Bank added 0.64 percent, China Merchants Bank rose 0.17 percent, Bank of Communications climbed 1.22 percent, China Life Insurance rallied 2.08 percent, Jiangxi Copper soared 3.62 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) jumped 1.79 percent, Yankuang Energy surged 4.36 percent, PetroChina gained 0.73 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) strengthened 1.37 percent, Huaneng Power shed 0.46 percent, China Shenhua Energy spiked 4.75 percent, Gemdale accelerated 2.11 percent, Poly Developments improved 2.76 percent, China Vanke increased 1.71 percent and Beijing Capital Development was up 1.52 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly negative as the major averages opened lower on Thursday and the losses accelerated as the session progressed.
The Dow plummeted 526.47 points or 1.47 percent to finish at 35,241.59, while the NASDAQ tumbled 304.73 points or 2.10 percent to close at 14,185.64 and the S&P 500 sank 83.10 points or 1.81 percent to end at 4,504.08.
The sell-off on Wall Street came after the Labor Department said the annual rate of growth in consumer prices accelerated more than expected in January. The data raised concerns that the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates more aggressively to fight elevated inflation.
Selling pressure accelerated after comments from St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard, who indicated he supports raising interest rates by 50 basis points next month as part of a plan to raise rates by a full percentage point by the start of July.
Crude oil futures settled higher Thursday, gaining for a second straight day as falling crude inventories continued to support the commodity's prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for March ended higher by $0.22 or 0.25 percent at $89.88 a barrel.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
