The China stock market on Thursday finally halted the six-day slide in which it had plummeted almost 175 points or 5.5 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,100-point plateau although it may turn lower again on Friday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is broadly negative on renewed concerns of a trade war plus a drop in crude oil prices. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The SCI finished sharply higher on Thursday with broadly based support - particularly from the financials, properties and oil and insurance stocks.
For the day, the index jumped 54.03 points or 1.78 percent to finish at 3,095.47 after trading between 3,054.27 and 3,098.08. The Shenzhen Composite Index soared 31.21 points or 1.80 percent to end at 1,767.55.
Among the actives, Bank of China added 0.27 percent, while Agricultural Bank of China collected 0.84 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China gained 0.53 percent, Bank of Communications picked up 0.67 percent, China Construction Bank and China Life both advanced 0.99 percent, Ping An Insurance spiked 2.44 percent, PetroChina jumped 2.18 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) soared 3.22 percent, China Vanke surged 3.86 percent and Gemdale perked 1.72 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is weak as stocks moved mostly lower on Thursday, fluctuating as the day progressed before closing firmly in negative territory.
The Dow shed 251.94 points or 1.02 percent to 24,415.84, while the NASDAQ lost 20.34 points or 0.27 percent to 7,442.12 and the S&P 500 fell 18.74 points or 0.69 percent to 2,705.27.
The weakness followed news that the Trump administration plans to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, Mexico and the European Union - drawing threats of retaliation by some major U.S. allies.
In economic news, the Labor Department noted a bigger than expected decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended May 26th.
Also, the Commerce Department said personal income increased as expected in April, while personal spending climbed by more than expected. And the National Association of Realtors noted a sharp decrease in pending home sales in April.
Crude oil futures were lower Thursday, giving back strong gains ahead of U.S. oil inventories data. July WTI oil dropped $1.17 or 1.7 percent to $67.04/bbl. Oil was down 2 percent in May but touched a four-year peak mid-month.
Closer to home, China will see May results for the manufacturing PMI from Caixin later this morning, with forecasts suggesting a score of 51.2, up from 51.1 in April.
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