SHANGHAI: China stocks climbed on Monday, with the blue-chip index hitting a more than five-year high, helped by upbeat services sector data, and robust foreign inflows on a rising yuan.
The CSI300 index was up 0.8% at 4,881.40 by the end of the morning session, after hitting its highest since June 25, 2015. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8% to 3,430.88.
The tech-heavy start-up board ChiNext firmed 0.4%, while the STAR50 index added 1.1%.
China's factory activity grew at a slower pace in August as floods across southwestern China disrupts production, but the services sector expanded at a solid rate in a boost to the economy as it continues to recover from the coronavirus shock.
Capital Economics senior China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard said the services-sector uptick suggested an encouraging broadening out of the recovery.
The rally in stocks also found support from robust inflows via the Stock Connect linking mainland and Hong Kong, which allows foreign investors access the country's onshore equities market.
Investors purchased a net 6.4 billion yuan ($934.92 million) worth of China shares via the Stock Connect on Friday as the yuan strengthened to a near seven-month high, HKEX data showed.
On Monday, investors bought a net 3.1 billion yuan worth of China stocks via the link as the yuan rose further, Refinitiv data showed.
The consumer staples sector, long favoured by foreign investors, climbed 1.7% to its highest since 2006 launch, having gained nearly 60% so far this year.
The Hang Seng index added 1.4% to 25,767.65, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 1.3% to 10,311.89.
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