China Stock Market May Add To Friday's Gains

The China stock market returned from its long National Day holiday to the upside on Friday, after finishing lower in four of five sessions before the break. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,270-point plateau and it's got a positive lead again for Monday's trade.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with optimism for stimulus tempered by weakness from the oil markets. The European and U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets are tipped to open in similar fashion.

The SCI finished sharply higher on Friday following gains from the properties and oil and insurance companies, while the financials were mixed.

For the day, the index spiked 54.02 points or 1.68 percent to finish at 3,272.08 after trading between 3,260.19 and 3,280.51. The Shenzhen Composite Index surged 66.42 points or 3.09 percent to end at 2,215.96.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.20 percent, while Bank of China collected 0.31 percent, China Construction Bank eased 0.16 percent, China Merchants Bank added 0.50 percent, Bank of Communications rose 0.22 percent, China Life Insurance advanced 0.95 percent, Ping An Insurance surged 2.15 percent, PetroChina gained 0.49 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) increased 0.51 percent, China Shenhua Energy climbed 0.61 percent, Gemdale was up 0.21 percent, Poly Developments jumped 1.07 percent, China Vanke improved 0.04 percent and Beijing Capital Development spiked 1.64 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as stocks opened higher on Friday and remained in the green throughout the session to finish higher for the third straight day.

The Dow climbed 161.40 points or 0.57 percent to finish at 28,586.90, while the NASDAQ spiked 158.94 points or 1.39 percent to end at 11,579.94 and the S&P 500 jumped 30.30 points or 0.88 percent to close at 3,477.13. For the week, the Dow surged 3.8 percent, the NASDAQ spiked 4.6 percent and the S&P gained 3.3 percent.

Continued optimism about a new stimulus bill contributed to the strength on Wall Street, as traders kept a close eye on the latest developments in Washington. The major averages spiked after President Donald Trump suggested he was once again in favor of a broad relief package.

Trump's comments came amid reports that the White House was planning to offer a $1.8 trillion package, which is up from the administration's previous $1.6 trillion proposal but still below the $2.2 trillion bill passed by House Democrats.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill later said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had "returned to the table with a proposal that attempted to address some of the concerns Democrats have."

Crude oil prices drifted lower on Friday as traders made largely cautious moves, weighing demand and supply positions in the market. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November were lower by $0.59 or 1.4 percent at $40.60 a barrel.

Closer to home, China will see September figures for new yuan loans and foreign direct investment later today. Forecasts suggest a total of CNY1,700 billion in loans - up from CNY1,280 billion in August; FDI was up 2.6 percent on year in the previous month.