SHANGHAI: Shanghai’s stock benchmark reversed earlier losses and ended higher for the eighth consecutive session on Friday, booking the longest winning streak since April.
Chinese equities also booked their best week in two months, and analysts expect the upward trend to continue, aided by a strengthening yuan.
At the close, the benchmark Shanghai Composite index was up 0.1 percent, while the blue-chip CSI300 index advanced 0.32 percent.
For the week, the SSEC rose 1.88 percent, and the CSI300 jumped 1.95 percent. Both indexes recorded their biggest weekly rises since late October.
Private fund manager Rabbit Fund expects China stocks to zig-zag higher as the economy slowly recovers.
Analysts also expect the market to benefit from a strengthening yuan, which on Thursday registered its strongest official close in 2-1/2 years.
The currency appreciation “is expected to whet foreign appetite for yuan assets, push up valuations and increase interbank liquidity,” Huatai Securities said.
The brokerage expects the yuan to reach 6.82 per dollar by the end of next year, which is nearly 3 percent stronger than the current level.
Gold miners jumped as prices of the yellow metal surged to a record high in early Asian trading on Friday.
Steelmakers rose after China on Friday said it will continue to regulate crude steel output and prohibit the addition of illegal new capacity from 2026 to 2030.
Expectations of Beijing’s broader crackdown on oversupply and disorderly competition boosted shares in the metal sector .
But tech stocks, including chip-makers and consumer electronics firms, dropped on profit-taking after strong gains recently.
Sichuan Swellfun Co shares slumped 3 percent after the spirit maker denied media reports of a potential acquisition by a rival company. It was down 1.83 percent at the close.
The Hong Kong stock market is closed on Friday for a public holiday.
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