Market Commentary and Intraday News

Win Streak Likely To End For China Stock Market

243 days ago

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished higher now in three straight sessions, climbing almost 35 points or 1.7 percent in that span. The Shanghai Composite Index closed just above the 2,130-point plateau, and now analysts are predicting consolidation at the opening of trade on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft after rallying for much of the week, with economic and earnings news likely to weigh. Disappointing news from Google is likely to drag down the technology-heavy markets in Asia after the internet search giant released its disappointing Q3 results ahead of schedule. Also, the U.S. Labor Department reported that jobless claims more than expected. The European markets were slightly higher and the U.S. bourses were lower, and the Asian markets are expected to follow the latter lead.

The SCI finished sharply higher on Thursday following the release of positive economic data, especially riding support from the property sector and financial shares.

For the day, the index climbed 26.07 points or 1.24 percent to finish at 2,131.69 after trading between 2,107.49 and 2,137.69. The Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 1.7 percent to end at 878.64.

Among the gainers, China Vanke spiked 3.8 percent, while Poly Real Estate surged 6.4 percent, Gree Real Estate soared 5.2 percent, China Life Insurance added 0.6 percent, Bank of Communications collected 0.5 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China jumped 1.0 percent and Bank of China climbed 0.4 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is negative as stocks ended lower on Thursday, with the disappointing news from Google in the afternoon weighing on the technology sector. The markets experienced choppy trading earlier in the session following the release of a mixed batch of economic data.

Tech stocks plummeted after Google released its third quarter results ahead of schedule. Google reported adjusted third quarter earnings of $9.03 per share, well below analyst estimates for $10.65 per share. The company also reported revenues that came in below analyst estimates.

Early selling resulted from a Labor Department report showing that jobless claims jumped to 388,000 in the week ended October 13 after falling to a four-year low of 342,000 in the previous week. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to rise to 365,000 from the 339,000 originally reported for the previous week.

However, a positive reaction to a batch of largely upbeat Chinese economic data helped to limit the downside for the markets.

Stocks subsequently regained some ground following the release of a pair of upbeat reports on Philadelphia manufacturing activity and leading U.S. economic indicators.

The Philly Fed said its diffusion index of current activity jumped to a positive 5.7 in October from a negative 1.9 in September, with a positive reading indicating an increase in regional manufacturing activity. With the increase, the index returned to positive territory for the first time since April.

Separately, the Conference Board said its leading economic index rose by 0.6 percent in September following a revised 0.4 percent drop in August. Economists had expected the index to edge up by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.1 percent dip originally reported for the previous month.

The major U.S. averages were down on Thursday as the NASDAQ plunged 31.25 points or 1 percent to finish at 3,073.87, while the Dow lost 8.06 points or 0.1 percent to end at 13,548.94 and the S&P 500 slipped 3.57 points or 0.2 percent to close at 1,457.34.

In economic news, growth in China's overall national output continued to slow in the third quarter with the gross domestic product recording a 7.4 percent year-on-year growth during the period, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. This was in line with expectations but slower than the 7.6 percent growth recorded in the second quarter.

The statistical office also reported that industrial production grew 9.2 percent year-on-year in September compared to forecast for a 9 percent rise.

Retail sales grew 14.2 percent annually during the month compared to expectations for a 13.2 percent increase. Fixed asset investment during the January to September period was up 20.5 percent, slightly faster than forecast for a 20.2 percent growth.

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