The China stock market has climbed higher now in five straight trading days, gathering more than 90 points or 2.7 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 3,500-point plateau it's looking at another green light again on Tuesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive thanks to optimism that the U.S. government shutdown will end soon, plus a mild bump in crude oil prices. The European markets were mixed and little changed and the U.S. markets higher - and the Asian bourses figure to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Monday as gains from the properties were capped by weakness from the oil companies and mixed performances from the financials and insurance stocks.
For the day, the index gained 13.50 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 3,501.36 after trading between 3,475.67 and 3,503.39. The Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 22.37 points or 1.16 percent to end at 1,943.91.
Among the actives, China Vanke added 0.28 percent, while Gemdale gained 0.63 percent, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China collected 0.70 percent, Agricultural Bank of China tumbled 2.46 percent, Bank of Communications skidded 1.19 percent, Bank of China was unchanged, China Life shed 0.71 percent, Ping An Insurance jumped 1.48 percent, PetroChina lost 0.56 percent and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) dropped 1.85 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is firm as stocks moved mostly higher on Monday, extending last week's strong upward move and lifting the major averages to new record closing highs.
The Dow added 142.88 points or 0.55 percent to 26,214.60, while the NASDAQ jumped 71.65 points or 0.98 percent to 7,408.03 and the S&P 500 gained 22.67 points or 0.81 percent to 2,832.97.
Traders had little response to the government shutdown but saw further upside amid signs it will soon be resolved. Both sides blamed each other for the government shutdown, which marks the first official shutdown since October of 2013.
Crude oil prices inched higher Monday after a top Saudi official said that OPEC should extend its supply quota plan beyond this year. March WTI oil climbed 26 cents or 0.4 percent to $63.57/bbl; February WTI oil gained 25 cents or 0.4 percent to $63.62/bbl.
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