SHANGHAI: China and Hong Kong stocks closed higher on Tuesday, extending their winning streak to a fifth consecutive month, buoyed by optimism over policy support ahead of key holidays.
The blue-chip CSI300 Index rose 3 percent in September, marking its longest monthly rally since October 2017. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 7 percent over the month.
By market close, the CSI300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index were both up 0.5 percent. The Hang Seng Index gained nearly 1 percent.
Onshore semiconductor shares rose 2 percent after DeepSeek released a new experimental model it says trains more efficiently and handles longer text sequences better than previous versions.
Also supporting sentiment was news that China would deploy 500 billion yuan (USD70.25 billion) in capital to accelerate investment projects.
The launch of the programme suggests Beijing is becoming more concerned about the growth outlook, especially about the slump in investment in July and August, reinforcing more cautious views for the second half, said Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura.
China’s manufacturing activity shrank for a sixth month in September, an official survey showed, suggesting producers are waiting for further stimulus to boost domestic demand.
Market reaction was limited after the US expanded its export blacklist to crack down on Chinese subsidiaries.
Investors are now awaiting China’s Communist Party meeting, set for October 20–23, where policymakers will chart the next five-year economic and social development plan.
Among individual stocks, shares of Zijin Gold International rose as much as 66 percent in their Hong Kong trading debut
China markets will be closed from October 1 to 8 for the Golden Week holiday, while Hong Kong markets will be closed on October 1 and 7 for public holidays.