The win streak has hit four sessions now for the China stock market, which has advanced almost 80 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,485-point plateau, and it has another green light for Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, thanks to optimism that the U.S. government shutdown will end soon, although a fall in crude oil prices may weigh. The European and U.S. markets were up and the Asian bourses figure to follow suit.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Friday as gains from the financials and oil companies were capped by weakness from the property sector.
For the day, the index perked 13.11 points or 0.38 percent to finish at 3,487.86 after trading between 3,474.29 and 3,498.43. The Shenzhen Composite Index dipped 2.66 points or 0.14 percent to end at 1,921.54.
Among the actives, PetroChina soared 3.09 percent, while China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) added 0.57 percent, Bank of China collected 0.92 percent, Agricultural Bank of China spiked 2.29 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dipped 0.14 percent, Bank of Communications climbed 1.81 percent, China Life skidded 1.36 percent, Ping An Insurance eased 0.03 percent, China Vanke shed 0.86 percent and Gemdale plummeted 2.63 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is upbeat as stocks moved higher on Friday, lifting the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 to new record closing highs.
The Dow rose 53.91 points or 0.21 percent to 26,071.72, while the NASDAQ advanced 40.33 points or 0.55 percent to 7,336.38 and the S&P 500 added 12.27 points or 0.44 percent to 2,810.30. For the week, the Dow and NASDAQ both surged 1 percent and the S&P 500 jumped 0.9 percent.
The strength came as optimism about the outlook for the economy and corporate earnings overshadowed concerns about a government shutdown as lawmakers failed to reach a last-minute agreement on a spending bill.
Traders seemed unfazed by a report from the University of Michigan showing an unexpected deterioration in consumer sentiment in January.
Crude oil prices continued to ease from recent four-year highs as February WTI oil was down 58 cents or 0.9 percent to settle at $63.37/bbl.
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