Shanghai stocks edge up 0.42 percent, led by oil and gas

China’s stock markets finished the day almost flat on Tuesday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index advancing by 0.42 percent, supported by the strong gains of oil and gas companies.

The A-share market opened lower and heavyweights in the consumption sectors suffered losses, contributing to major index ending the morning session near flat.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index inched by 0.42 percent, or 11.16 points, to finish the day at 2,665.96, thanks to the strong performance of oil, gas as well as iron and steel companies in the afternoon trading session. 

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index rose by 0.19 percent to end at 7,953.72 points, and the Nasdaq-style ChiNext enterprise board increased by 0.43 percent to close the day at 1,378.75.

Haimo Technologies Group Corp, a Shenzhen-listed independent energy company focused in energy production, equipment supply and environmental protection, saw its shares surge by the daily maximum limit of 10 percent to close at 5.95 yuan per share.

Analysts noted that compared to the gains recorded overnight on Wall Street, the slight rise in the A-share markets showed that investors still remain cautious amid uncertainty about the future of Sino-US trade relations.

Yang Hai, a senior strategist at Kaiyuan Securities, was quoted by Caixin.com as saying that the recent improvement in trade tensions between China and the US have blocked declines of the market in the short term.

The broker said that further recovery still depends on the country’s internal factors such as government policies, economic fundamentals and the listed-companies’ profitability.