SHANGHAI: China’s major stock indexes opened up sharply on Friday following a jump on Wall Street, with domestic investors closely eyeing any adjustments to the country’s zero-COVID policy.
The blue-chip CSI 300 Index opened up 2.8% and the Hang Seng Index surged 6.5%.
The broad gains on China’s markets come after cooler-than-expected US inflation data suggested the Federal Reserve’s barrage of interest rate hikes are beginning to have their intended effect.
Tech giants listed in Hong Kong surged roughly 10%, tracking a 7.6% overnight jump in the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index.
China’s new top leadership body reaffirmed Beijing’s “dynamic-zero” COVID-19 policy on Thursday, as case numbers rose and authorities in the city of Guangzhou urged residents to work from home but stopped short of a city-wide lockdown.
The meeting also put forward 20 measures to optimise China’s pandemic response, although details have not been published yet but some investors expect some easing and more pragmatic measures to contain the outbreaks.
We see mixed signals on China’s reopening prospects from the meeting, Citi analysts said in a note.
China stocks fall after rally driven by reopening bets
“With the constant reiteration of ‘no simplistic method’ from top levels, local governments’ response is the next key watch point.
Since COVID prevention is often overdone at local level, a correction in implementation will be a de facto easing.“
Meanwhile, central bank data on Thursday showed new bank lending fell sharply in October, far below expectations in a Reuters poll.
Comments
Comments are closed.