China stocks extend gains as new leadership line-up unveiled


FE Team | Published: October 25, 2017 12:09:55 | Updated: October 26, 2017 11:54:52


File Photo (Reuters)

China stocks were on track to rise for a fourth straight session on Wednesday, as the ruling Communist Party revealed its new leadership line-up.

China’s blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.3 per cent, to 3,969.10 points at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1 per cent, to 3,392.29 points, reports Reuters.

During the lunch break, the Communist Party unveiled its core decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee, headed by President Xi Jinping.

Deciphering policies from the week-long Party Congress, HSBC’s Greater China Economist Julia Wang expected co-ordinated policies to reduce financial risks, more institutionalised environment policies, and accelerated state-owned enterprise (SOE) reforms.

An index tracking environmental protection shares rose 0.6 per cent, as investors bet they will benefit from Xi’s vision of a “beautiful China.”

Indexes tracking SOEs were also firm. But reflecting continuous tightness in liquidity conditions, China’s 10-year treasury yields hovered around the highest level since late 2014.

Trading has been calm during the Party Congress, as regulators vowed to maintain market stability. But as the curtain closed for the congress, some worried that the market would come under pressure.

Hu Yuanzhi, fund manager at Shanghai-based asset manager Rationalstone Investment, said the market could face the risk of a correction in the fourth quarter.

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