SHANGHAI: China stocks rose on Monday, led by infrastructure firms, after the country's top leaders vowed to prioritise economic stability in 2022, fuelling hopes for more stimulus to aid a slowing economy.
** But some sectors, such as tourism and transport fell, weighed by fears of a new coronavirus outbreak in eastern China.
** China will cut tax and fees, front-load infrastructure investment, and step up cross-cyclical policy adjustments next year to keep growth within a reasonable range, senior policymakers said in a statement after holding the annual Central Economic Work Conference from Dec. 8-10.
** The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.6%, to 5,083.80, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4% to 3,681.08.
** The agenda-setting meeting "leaves little doubt that policy support is being stepped up," Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics, wrote.
** Infrastructure stocks jumped 2.5%, on bets of more aggressive fiscal policies to speed up building roads, railways and data centres.
** "We believe the government will soon bring forward some new quotas of special local government bonds," ANZ economists wrote.
** But real estate stocks in China fell, as policymakers reiterated that "housing is for living, not for speculation".
** The sector had been hit by stringent lending curbs and fears of contagion from the financial woes of China Evergrande Group. ** "It's not a 180-degree change of Beijing's property curbs yet, and it's hard for Beijing to make such a turnabout," Nomura's chief China economist Lu Ting said.
** Also bucking the broader trend, tourism and transport stocks fell, amid worries over a new COVID-19 outbreak in eastern Zhejiang province.
** More than a dozen Chinese-listed companies said they had suspended production in coronavirus-hit parts of Zhejiang in response to local government's tightened COVID-19 curbs, causing their share prices to plunge.
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