World Bank Sees Higher Growth in China

Today, the World Bank raised its economic forecast for China saying the world’s third largest economy will grow 7.2% this year due to the government’s economic stimulus efforts. But it also cautioned that it’s still far too early to say whether a “robust sustained recovery” is on the way because private investment will likely continue to lag.

In a story by The Wall Street Journal the World Bank also raised concerns about the country’s increasing debt burden. It is predicting China’s budget deficit to be 4.9% of GDP this year, higher than its prior forecast of 3.2% of GDP and the government’s forecast of 3%. Some believe the higher the debt burden for 2009 means there is less maneuverability for the Chinese government in 2010.

From the Bull Pen: For a Chinese play, consider PetroChina (PTR). The stock has been on a tear since breaking above $90. One option is to start an initial position here, and fade (read: buy) into support near $100. A sell stop can be below that level.

From the Bear Cave: Bears can keep an eye on SINA Corp (SINA). Watch for failure at gapfill at $33. One can play the downside, if and when it gets to that level.

Quick Check Around the World

Asian trading closed with the Hang Seng -1.70%, India -1.77%, Shanghai 1.56%, Nikkei -1.39%, and Taiwan -0.83%.

Glancing towards Europe, we see the FTSE -0.27%, CAC -0.34%, DAX -0.17%

As of 8:25 AM EST, S&P Futures are trading -0.9 to 904.40 and Nasdaq futures are -6.0 to 1447.50.

A Look at Commodities

Over in commodities, crude oil is trading -0.53 to 70.50 while gold is +1.50 at 937.50 this morning. Silver is -0.700 to 14.21 and copper -2.85 to 223.10.

The dollar index is -0.025 to 80.5500.

On the Radar

Economics

08:30 Initial Claims
10:00 Leading Indicators 0.9% cons
10:00 Philadelphia Fed 1 -16.4 cons

Click here for the full trading radar.

Good luck today!