Stocks finish higher against new tightening policies

By Li Zengxin (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-05-21 15:49

At the Shanghai Stock Exchange, as many as 628 stocks went up, but 142 down and 70 flat. Jiangxi Changjiu Biochemical Industry was the top gainer, with its share price rising 10.05 percent to 9.42 yuan. Tianjin Zhongxin Pharmaceutical Group and Shandong Homey Aquatic Development also saw their share prices sealed at the maximum cap while Liuzhou Liangmianzhen dropped 4.85 percent as the biggest loser.

China Unicom with the largest trading volume continued rising today to 6.42 yuan. China Minsheng Banking Corp with the largest transaction value, fell 1.72 percent.

In the Shenzhen market, Tianjin Guangyu Development and Wuzhong Instrument were top gainers, while Hubei Guangji Pharmaceutical led the fall. China Vanke ranked on top in terms of both trading volume and transaction value.

Companies in coal industry were on the spotlight. Datong Coal and Kailuan Clean Coal led the sector in price hike, with their shares surging 10 percent to 23.10 yuan and 4.85 percent to 24.65 yuan respectively.

Guangzhou Well Medicine Science and Technology was suspected of misconducts in information disclosure. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange initiated the fast response mechanism and put the under intense monitoring. Guangzhou Well went down 3.53 percent today.

Last Friday, China announced a basket of new monetary policy changes to curb excessive liquidity: interest rate hike, bank required reserve ratio lift and an enlargement of the renminbi exchange rate floating band.

The central bank raised the one-year deposit and loan interest rates by 0.27 and 0.18 percentage points, respectively, to 3.06 and 6.57 percent as of May 19. It will also raise banks' reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage points to 11.5 percent, effective on June 5. And it widened the floating band of yuan against US dollar for daily spot trading on the interbank market from 0.3 percent to 0.5 percent as of May 21.

However, the combination of the "three swords" have been well anticipated and partially digested by the Friday's mixed performances in the stock market. As analysts at the 2007 Securities China Investment Forum held in Beijing Saturday believe, the psychological impact of the macro policy changes is bigger than the real one to the market.
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