Chinese stocks log best gain in a month on manufacturing rebound, validating optimism among foreign funds
- Chinese stocks logged the biggest gain in a month after reports showed a rebound in manufacturing
- Recovery signs underpinned better sentiment among foreign investors, who have bought almost US$11.5 billion worth of onshore equities in the past two months
The CSI 300 Index of the nation’s biggest companies advanced 1.6 per cent to 3,595.65 on Monday, the most since February 29, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 1.2 per cent. Financial markets in Hong Kong are closed for the Easter holiday and will reopen on Tuesday.
EV makers and battery materials producers led the rally. BYD jumped 4.4 per cent to 212.01 yuan and Chongqing Changan Automobile added 5.6 per cent to 17.74 yuan, while Contemporary Amperex surged 4 per cent to 197.84 yuan.
Ganfeng Lithium gained 8.3 per cent to 39.37 yuan and peer Tianqi Lithium rose 4.9 per cent to 50.31 yuan. Shandong Gold Mining jumped 4.5 per cent to 29.49, leading gains among gold stocks after price of the precious metal reached a new all-time high.
China’s official PMI manufacturing index rose to 50.8 in March from 49.1 in February, the statistics bureau said on Sunday. The reading surpassed market consensus of 50.1 and ended five months of contraction in factory activity. A separate report by Caixin/S&P Global showed the manufacturing index rose to 51.1 in March, beating analysts’ forecasts.
“We have started to see some positive signs as expectations for domestic fundamentals and policies improved with the upbeat data and measures coming out,” Zhang Xingyao, a strategist at China Industrial Securities, said in a note on Sunday.
The CSI 300 Index rose 3.1 per cent this year through March 31, snapping a three-quarter losing streak to post the best quarter in a year. State-fund market intervention, Beijing’s policy support and regulatory crackdown on short-selling contributed to the turnaround.
Limiting gains, China Vanke declined 0.2 per cent to 8.98 yuan and Poly Developments slipped 0.4 per cent to 9.09 yuan. A private report showed the country’s 100 biggest home builders posted a 46 per cent slump in new home sales in March from a year earlier.
Other key Asian markets were mixed on Monday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 1.4 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi added less than 0.1 per cent. Australia’s financial markets are also closed for the Easter break.
