INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
China shares rose for a third session on Thursday after Beijing said it will soon halve tariffs levied against some US goods, in an apparent
move to boost business and investor confidence amid a virus outbreak that has disrupted economic activity.
The Shanghai Composite index
closed 1.7 per cent higher at 2,866.51
The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 1.9 per cent
During the session, both indexes hit their highest level since Jan
23, just before the markets closed for Lunar New Year break when the coronavirus spread further
CSI300's financial sector sub-index rose 1.3 per cent, the consumer staples sector climbed 2.5 per cent, the real estate index was up 0.9
per cent and the healthcare sub-index was up 2.9 per cent
The smaller Shenzhen index rose 2.9 per cent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index gained 3.7 per cent
China said it will halve tariffs on some goods imported from the United States starting on Feb
14, and reiterated that it hopes it can work with Washington to eventually scrap all tariffs in bilateral trade
"This helps shift the focus a bit," said Linus Yip, chief strategist at First Shanghai Securities
"Long-term investors have been allocating Chinese equities since Monday's drop
Any good news would accelerate that, and anything that helps fight the epidemic or the economy is good news."
Domestic markets were also
lifted by a global rally late Wednesday that traders attributed to vague rumours of a possible vaccine or a drug breakthrough for the virus,
although they also said such catalysts were likely to be an excuse for short-covering
The World Health Organization played down such reports of "breakthrough" of drug discovery on Wednesday
Stocks this week have been aided by policymakers' efforts to prevent heavy selling, including liquidity injections and de facto
"We believe market valuations currently are relatively attractive, (we) can also expect adjustment policy (support)," analysts at Galaxy
Securities wrote in a report, although they added it will take time for stocks to recover
Pictet Asset Management's multi-asset strategy team said they have reduced equities "across the board" in Hong Kong and mainland China as
these are "economies that are most affected" by the coronavirus
So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is down 6 per cent and the CSI300 has fallen 4.8 per cent
About 31.64 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange
The volume in the previous trading session was 30.98 billion