The China stock market has moved higher in four straight sessions, advancing more than 90 points or 2.3 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just beneath the 3,920-point plateau and it has a solid lead for Tuesday's trade. The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to higher, with gold, oil and technology shares likely to lead the way higher. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The SCI finished modestly higher on Monday following gains from the properties and resource stocks, while the financial shares came in mixed. For the day, the index gained 26.92 points or 0.69 percent to finish at 3,917.36 after trading between 3,900.52 and 3,920.01. The Shenzhen Composite Index climbed 24.92 points or 1.13 percent to end at 2,492.70. Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China perked 0.13 percent, while Bank of China rose 0.18 percent, Agricultural Bank of China collected 0.53 percent, China Merchants Bank shed 0.52 percent, Bank of Communications lost 0.40 percent, China Life Insurance fell 0.30 percent, Jiangxi Copper jumped 1.74 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) climbed 1.11 percent, Yankuang Energy sank 0.52 percent, PetroChina improved 0.73 percent, Huaneng Power gained 0.26 percent, China Shenhua Energy increased 0.71 percent, Gemdale slid 0.31 percent, Poly Developments was up 0.16 percent and China Vanke added 0.61 percent.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened higher on Monday and spent all day in the green.
The Dow climbed 227.79 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 48,362.68, while the NASDAQ jumped 121.21 points or 0.52 percent to close at 23,428.83 and the S&P 500 added 43.99 points or 0.64 percent to end at 6,878.49.
The strength on Wall Street came as on continued strength among technology stocks, with companies like Oracle (ORCL) and AI darling and market leader Nvidia (NVDA) leading the charge.
Overall trading activity was subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping traders on the sidelines. Some traders may also be away as they look to get a head start on the Christmas Day holiday on Thursday.
Crude oil prices surged on Monday as the conflict between the U.S. and Venezuela continue to escalate, while Russia and Ukraine remain heavily engaged. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was up $1.43 or 2.53 percent at $57.95 per barrel.
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December 19, 2025 15:10 ET U.S. inflation data and interest rate decisions by major central banks were the highlights of this busy week for economics news flow. Employment data and survey results on the housing markets also gained attention in the U.S. In Europe, the European Central Bank and Bank of England announced their policy decisions and macroeconomic projections.