China stocks edge higher on new energy sector gains; economic data in focus

HONG KONG: China stocks edged up on Thursday, led by gains in new energy sector shares, while investors awaited key economic data due on Friday.

• At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.4% at 4,017.94, and China’s blue-chip CSI300 index climbed 1%, both recouping earlier losses.

• “Some domestic institutional investors in China have a November year-end cutoff, and I think there’s been a shift toward booking the very strong year-to-date returns,” said Zhikai Chen, head of Asian equities at BNP Paribas Asset Management.

• The profit-taking and rotation into dividend-paying sectors could stay for a while as these investors close out the year, he added.

• Leading gains, the CSI New Energy Vehicle Index surged 6.9% to a three-year high, and the New Energy Index rallied 5.5%, on track for its biggest single-day gain in two weeks.

• Battery maker CATL surged 8.2% to near a record high last seen in October, and miner Tianqi Lithium jumped 9.9%.

• A senior official at China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Thursday that they will announce a comprehensive plan to boost the new energy battery sector and promote its infrastructure usage.

• The artificial intelligence sector and chip shares climbed 0.5% and 0.9%, respectively, to recover some losses seen earlier this week.

• In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 0.6% at 26,766.71, after touching a one-month high on Wednesday. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.6%.

• Elsewhere, investors are awaiting China’s October credit data this week, and other indicators of economic activity such as retail sales, industrial output, and investment on Friday, to get a sense of the economic recovery and any implications for the policy outlook.