Government efforts boost for city shares

Chinese stocks extended their rally on Wednesday as government efforts to support the economy eased investors’ concerns.

The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.25 percent to 2,818.09 points, while the smaller Shenzhen Component Index jumped 2.14 percent to 10,305.5. The ChiNext Component Index, meanwhile, posted a sharp rise of 3.02 percent to 1,939.62 points, and the blue chip CSI300 Index closed 1.13 percent higher at 3,828.53.

Turnover on the two major bourses totalled 872.28 billion yuan (US$124.62 billion) compared with 910.11 billion yuan in the previous session.

Stocks of nearly 200 listed companies surged by the daily limit of 10 percent.

Pharmaceutical shares continued to lead the rise during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, with Hengkang medical Group Co, Hunan Er-Kang Pharmaceutical Co and Changjiang Runfa Health Industry Co all soaring by the 10 percent maximum.

Stocks related to online working were also among the biggest gainers, as many companies are asking employees to work at home to keep them safe from the virus. Suzhou Keda Technology Co, Shenzhen Comix Group Co and Avcon Information Technology Co all hit the 10 percent daily cap.

Online education shares gained as well after city authorities said schools wouldn’t open before the end of February.

Meanwhile, Tesla-related shares continued to perform well, including Contemporary Amperex Technology Co, Aotecar New Energy Technology Co and Jiangsu Xiuqiang Glasswork Co, as the US-listed electric car manufacturer saw its stocks jump sharply after posting its second consecutive quarterly profit last Wednesday.

The national defense and military industry, consumer services companies, computer firms, and transport shares also saw big gains.

On the SSE STAR Market, stocks of 74 of the 80 companies listed rose while the rest declined.

An improvement in the number of new suspected cases of the epidemic relieved market concerns to some extent and led to the rebound in last two sessions, according to an analyst at Cinda Securities.