Stock markets flat after higher opening
China’s A-share markets closed flat on Monday after a higher opening. Oil, electronics and computer stocks were among the day's big gainers.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.02 percent to finish at 3,030.75 after early gains in morning trading.
The smaller Shenzhen Component Index slipped by 0.02 percent to close at 9,918.09 points, while the ChiNext Index was up 0.22 percent to finish at 1,714.37 points.
Combined turnover on the two bourses came to 581.3 billion yuan (US$82.2 billion), up from the previous trading day’s volume of 537.3 billion yuan.
Stocks of oil companies jumped in the opening hour, following drone attacks over the weekend that knocked out about half of Saudi Arabia’s daily crude production.
Shares of Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas Group Corp Ltd, a drilling engineering contractor and manufacturer of petroleum drilling equipment headquartered in Shanghai Lingang Industrial Park, surged by 7.37 percent to close at 17.63 yuan per share.
On Monday, the Chinese central bank’s latest reserve requirement ratio (RRR) cuts took effective, which could inject around 800 billion yuan of long-term capital into the market.
The move, announced earlier this month, marked this year’s second broad-based RRR cut by the People’s Bank of China, which aims to encourage financial institutions to lend more support to the real economy and reduce the real cost of social financing.
Analysts predict that news around Sino-US trade talks will continue to play a role in the market this week as investors are mindful of signs of progress in the negotiations.
Last Thursday, China’s Ministry of Commerce said Chinese trade officials would meet their US counterparts in Washington next month.