The China stock market has finished higher in three straight sessions, gathering almost 30 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 2,825-point plateau and it's tipped to open in the green again on Monday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on renewed expectations for fiscal stimulus. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses are tipped to open in similar fashion.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Friday following gains from the financial shares and insurance companies.
For the day, the index added 8.02 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 2,823.82 after trading between 2,811.80 and 2,840.32. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 8.41 points or 0.55 percent to end at 1,525.48.
Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China skidded 1.08 percent, while Bank of China shed 0.28 percent, China Construction Bank dipped 0.14 percent, China Merchants Bank collected 0.83 percent, China Life Insurance added 0.75 percent, Ping An Insurance climbed 1.33 percent, China Shenhua Energy rose 0.22 percent, Poly Developments sank 0.72 percent, China Vanke slid 0.23 percent, CITIC Securities gained 0.61 percent and Gemdale, PetroChina and China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) were unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is broadly positive as stocks opened higher on Friday and the gains accelerated as the day progressed.
The Dow added 306.61 points or 1.20 percent to 25,886.01, while the NASDAQ jumped 129.37 points or 1.67 percent to 7,895.99 and the S&P 500 rose 41.08 points or 1.44 percent to 2,888.68. For the week, the Dow shed 1.5 percent, the NASDAQ lost 0.8 percent and the S&P fell 1 percent.
The rally on Wall Street reflected optimism about the world's central banks providing stimulus in order to prevent a global recession. European Central Bank official Olli Rehn expressed the need for significant easing in September to support the flagging eurozone economy, spurring investors.
The expectations for more stimulus fueled a pullback by U.S. treasuries and a subsequent increase in bond yields. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note had dropped below the two-year yield on Wednesday, sparking fears of an impending recession and a sell-off on Wall Street.
In economic news, the University of Michigan noted a significant deterioration in U.S. consumer sentiment in August. Also, the Commerce Department reported an unexpected slump in housing starts in July but a sharper than expected increase in building permits.
Crude oil futures settled higher Friday as recession fears faded amid hopes global central banks will announce further stimulus to revive economic growth. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up $0.40 or 0.7 percent at $54.87 a barrel.
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