China stocks rise as cautious investors await policy signals

SHANGHAI: China stocks slightly edged up on Friday, but the blue-chip benchmark still hovered around nearly five-year lows, as investors remained cautious about the country’s weak recovery and awaited clues from upcoming policy meetings.

** The blue-chip CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index both added 0.4% by the midday recess.

** Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.2%, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index remained roughly flat.

** The CSI 300 Index has lost more than 2% so far for the week, as ratings agency Moody’s slapped a downgrade warning on China and Hong Kong’s credit rating, adding to investor concerns about China’s already weak recovery.

China blue-chip stocks fall to a near 5-year low

** Data on Thursday also showed an unexpected shrink in imports, although exports grew for the first time in six months in November.

** “It underscores the need to boost domestic demand,” said Bohai Securities.

** In the coming two weeks, the market will shift its focus to policy signals, the brokerage added.

** China will be holding the annual Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC) this month, where top leaders will discuss policy plans and the outlook for the world’s second-largest economy.

** Shares in artificial intelligence, communications equipment rose 3.7% and 4.3%, respectively, while real estate developers fell 1.2%.

** Overnight, Alphabet shares ended 5.3% higher as Wall Street cheered the launch of Gemini, saying the new artificial intelligence model could help narrow the gap in a race with Microsoft-backed OpenAI.

** Hong Kong-listed tech giants edged up 0.3%.