China stocks hit 1-week high on U.S. stimulus expectations

Shenzhou International group

25/03/2020 04:59

* SSEC +1.6%, CSI300 +2%, HSI +2.1%, HSCE +2.1%
    * Global markets rally as U.S. congress closes in on
stimulus deal
    * Mainland China reports drop in new imported coronavirus
cases

    HONG KONG, March 25 (Reuters) - China stocks hit a one-week
high on Wednesday on hopes that the U.S. Congress would pump
trillions of dollars to support the world's largest economy
during the coronavirus pandemic.
** Also helping sentiment, Mainland China reported a drop in new
confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday as imported infections
fell and no locally transmitted infections were reported.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2BI04M
 
** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index  .SSEC  was
up 1.6% at 2,765.12 points, having reached its highest level
since March 18 in morning trade. The blue-chip CSI300 index
 .CSI300  was higher by 2% and also hit its one-week high. 
    
** CSI300's financial sector sub-index  .CSI300FS  climbed 1.5%,
the consumer staples sector  .CSI000912  gained 1.9%, the real
estate index  .CSI000952  added 1.8% and the healthcare
sub-index  .CSI300HC  rallied 3.4%.
 
** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong  .HSCE  rose 2.1%. The
Hang Seng Index  .HSI  also climbed 2.1% to 23,143.24. 
 
** The smaller Shenzhen index  .SZSC  was up 2.1% and the
start-up board ChiNext Composite index  .CNT  gained 2.5%.
 
** Senior Democrats and Republicans in the divided U.S. Congress
said on Tuesday they were close to a deal on a $2 trillion
stimulus package to limit the economic damage from coronavirus
pandemic.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2BH0HC
    
** Chinese and other Asian stock markets tracked Wall Street,
where the Dow Jones Industrial Average  .DJI  recorded its
biggest one-day percentage gain since 1933.  .N   MKTS/GLOB 
    
** MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index  .MIAPJ0000PUS  was firmer
by 2.9% and Japan's Nikkei index  .N225  jumped 5.5%.

** The number of new infections in China totalled 47 on Tuesday,
all of which were from travellers returning home, down from 78 a
day earlier, the National Health Commission said.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2BI04M
    
** The country appears to be getting back to work. More than one
fifth of American companies in China are back to normal
operations after widespread disruptions caused by the
coronavirus epidemic, a survey showed Wednesday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2BI0O8
 
** "Overall, retail investors in China are confident in the
Chinese stock market," Toby Wu, senior analyst at eToro, said in
a note. 
    
** "As the pandemic continues to ease in China, we expect to see
more foreign investment flowing into the market."   
    
** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was 0.11% softer at 7.07 per U.S. dollar
as of 0359 GMT.
 
** So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is down 9.3%,
while China's H-share index is down 16%. Shanghai stocks have
declined almost 4% this month. 
 
** At midday, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of
29.46% over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares.  .HSCAHPI 
    

 (Reporting by Noah Sin; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)
 ((Noah.Sin@thomsonreuters.com; +852 5202 7991; Reuters
Messaging: noah.sin.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; Twitter: https://twitter.com/noah_sin))