The China stock market has climbed higher in six straight session, gathering more than 200 points or 3 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,575-point plateau although it may be stuck in neutral on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian suggests consolidation after the markets responded yesterday to the positive catalysts and are now overbought. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses are due for profit taking.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the financial shares and resource stocks were capped by weakness from the property sector.
For the day, the index advanced 25.33 points or 0.71 percent to finish at the daily high of 3,576.20 after trading as low as 3,526.62. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 5.15 points or 0.21 percent to end at 2,426.66.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.60 percent, while Bank of China added 0.31 percent, China Construction Bank advanced 0.80 percent, China Merchants Bank soared 3.96 percent, China Life Insurance climbed 0.90 percent, Jiangxi Copper skyrocketed 8.26 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) surged 7.24 percent, Yanzhou Coal gathered 2.00 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) rose 0.24 percent, China Shenhua Energy jumped 1.73 percent, Gemdale tanked 2.71 percent, Poly Developments skidded 1.12 percent, China Vanke was up 0.14 percent, Beijing Capital Development tumbled 1.56 percent and Bank of Communications and PetroChina were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks moved sharply higher on Thursday and reached fresh record closing highs.
The Dow climbed 211.73 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 31,041.13, while the NASDAQ surged 326.69 points or 2.56 percent to end at 13.067.48 and the S&P 500 gained 55.65 points or 1.48 percent to close at 3,803.79.
The strength on Wall Street came as U.S. lawmakers certified President-elect Joe Biden's victory after the process was delayed by several hours as supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol building.
The certification of Biden's victory along with Democratic victories in Georgia's Senate runoff elections will give Democrats control of the House, Senate and the White House, which is expected to lead to additional stimulus.
In economic news, the Labor Department noted a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Also, The Institute for Supply Management said service sector activity in the U.S. unexpectedly grew at a faster pace in December.
Crude oil futures ended higher on Thursday, extending gains to a third straight session, with the recent data showing a drop in stockpiles continuing to support prices. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for February ended up $0.20 or 0.4 percent at $50.83 a barrel.
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