INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
HONG KONG: The Chinese stock market closed higher on Friday after Premier Li Keqiang vowed strong measures to boost slowing economic growth
At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 1 per cent at 3,021.75 while the blue-chip CSI300 index was up 1.3 per cent
The Shanghai index rose 1.7 per cent this week while the CSI300 gained 2.4 per cent
CSI300's financial sector sub-index was higher by 1.2 per cent, the consumer staples sector was up 1.3 per cent, and healthcare shares
The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 1.4 per cent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 0.8 per cent
China will not let economic growth slip out of a reasonable range amid downward pressure on its economy, Li said on Friday at a press
conference marking the end of the annual meeting of the National People's Congress
The Chinese premier pledged strong measures to support growth, saying that the government could use tools such as reserve requirements and
Li added that China would cut value-added tax (VAT) for manufacturing and other sectors on April 1 and social security fees from May 1
The measures are coming after China lowered its growth target to 6 to 6.5 per cent for 2019, down from around 6.5 per cent last year
But signs of economic stress kept the stock market's gains in check
Li's remarks came after China reported its slowest monthly industrial output growth in 17 years, and jobless rates rose month-on-month
The market expects prudent measures to support growth, not a benchmark interest rate cut, said Zhang Qi, an analyst with Haitong Securities
"We've just been through a few tough years of deleveraging
I don't think there will be full-on loosening," he said
But the market could ride on fresh support if the Sino-US trade talks produce a positive outcome, Yannan Chenye, head of China equity
research at Harvest Global Investments, said in a note
"Any market correction would be a good opportunity to accumulate China shares," said the analyst
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He spoke by telephone with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer,
making further substantive progress on trade talks, Xinhua news agency said on Friday
Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.7 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.8 per cent
So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is up 21.2 per cent and the CSI300 has risen 24.4 per cent
About 34.12 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange
The volume in the previous trading session was 37.31 billion
The Shanghai stock index is above its 50-day moving average and above its 200-day moving average
