Equities soar on robust indicators

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(China Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2009-10-21 08:26

Chinese stocks rose yesterday, driving the Shanghai Composite Index to a two-month high, after Vice-Premier Li Keqiang said the nation's economic growth is rebounding.

The benchmark index gained 46.18, or 1.5 percent, to 3,084.45, the highest close since Aug 13. The CSI 300 Index added 1.5 percent to 3,377.57.

"Exports are likely to recover slightly in the next six months and this should be able to sustain economic growth," Peter So, head of research at CCB International Securities Ltd, said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Hong Kong. "We expect consumption in China to continue to maintain at a higher level."

The Shanghai index is up 69 percent this year as a $586-billion stimulus package and record lending drove China's rebound from the deepest economic slump in almost a decade. Data due Oct 22 will show the economy expanded 9 percent in the third quarter, the fastest pace since September 2008, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Economic growth is rebounding month by month, Vice-Premier Li told a conference of the Association of South East Asian Nations yesterday in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

"Stable government policy and the September economic numbers should boost the market," said Citic Securities Co analysts led by Yu Jun, in a report. The brokerage recommended insurers, banks and property developers.

Jiangxi Copper Co, the nation's biggest producer of the metal, climbed 1.3 percent to 41.73 yuan ($6.11). Yunnan Copper Industry Co added 3.2 percent to 31.80 yuan.

China Merchants, the nation's fifth-biggest bank by value, gained 4.7 percent to 16.73 yuan. The bank won approval to raise as much as 22 billion yuan in a right offer. More than 99 percent of investors voted for the proposed sale at a shareholder meeting on Monday, Merchants Bank said.

Hang Seng up

Hong Kong stocks rose as higher commodity prices and better-than-estimated earnings from Apple Inc boosted confidence in the global economic recovery.

"Rising commodity prices and earnings that beat estimates should boost confidence in the economy and the market," said Castor Pang, a research director at CINDA International Holdings Ltd, a Hong Kong-listed brokerage. "A continued rise in commodity prices could trigger inflation and prompt some monetary tightening. That may hinder the market."

The Hang Seng Index rose 0.8 percent to 22,384.96 at the close, with the city's biggest developers.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks so-called H shares of mainland companies, rose 0.7 percent to 13,039.96.

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