2020-04-09 11:45:00
CHINA STOCKS UP
REUTERS - April 9 - China stocks settled higher on Thursday, tracking strength in other Asian markets on hopes the new coronavirus pandemic may be approaching a peak.
At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.37% at 2,825.90.
The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.33%, with its financial sector sub-index higher by 0.2%, the consumer staples sector up 0.12%, the real estate index down 0.81% and the healthcare sub-index up 2.61%.
The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 0.85% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 1.648%.
Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 1.47%, while Japan’s Nikkei index closed down 0.04%.
Helping broader sentiment was New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s statement that the state’s efforts at social distancing were working in getting the virus under control in one of the biggest hot spots in the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would like to reopen the U.S. economy with a “big bang” but that the death toll from the coronavirus first needs to be heading down.
Market sentiment has improved somewhat after the recent U.S. massive monetary and fiscal easing to help its economy, which could help lift risk appetite for the A-share market, analysts at Eversight Securities said in note.
Long-term investors will now start to buy shares given the reasonable valuations of China stocks, the brokerage added.
China’s new bank loans are expected to have rebounded in March from a sharp drop the previous month, a Reuters poll showed, as policymakers continue to urge lenders to help cash-strapped companies hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.
China released new measures on Wednesday to try and prevent asymptomatic “silent carriers” of coronavirus from causing a second wave of infections, as the country reported another modest rise in new confirmed cases.
At 07:07 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 7.0677 per U.S. dollar, 0.04% weaker than the previous close of 7.0651.
As of 07:08 GMT, China’s A-shares were trading at a premium of 25.69% over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares.
-----
Earlier:
2020, April, 1, 12:55:00
CHINA PURCHASES U.S. OIL
China is boosting U.S. energy imports at a time when the world is swamped with excess supply after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia failed to extend production cuts and as measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus undermined demand.
2020, April, 1, 12:45:00
CHINA STOCKS DOWN
At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.57% at 2,734.52.
2020, April, 1, 12:40:00
CHINA'S OIL PRODUCT CONSUMPTION DOWN
China's oil product consumption over the first two months of 2020 dropped 14.1% year on year to 41.94 million mt.
