Foreign trade figures boost stock prices
China stocks continued to post gains on Tuesday as foreign trade data that was better than expected boosted investor confidence.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.04 percent to 3,359.75 points, while the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index rose by 0.66 percent to 13,798.58 points.
The ChiNext Composite Index, meanwhile, advanced 0.26 percent to 2,784.72 points, and the blue chip CSI300 Index closed 0.33 percent higher at 4,839.2 points.
Customs data released on Tuesday showed that China’s imports accelerated in September while exports improved further, well above market expectations and narrowing the headline trade surplus, which raised investor confidence in the Chinese economy and the financial markets.
Total trading volume on the two major bourses, however, shrank sharply to 834.9 billion yuan (US$123.94 billion) compared with the 971.4 billion in the previous session. Turnover on the Shanghai market was 288.5 billion yuan, down 67.2 billion yuan from Monday.
The Hong Kong stock market was closed on Tuesday due to a typhoon warning, thus no capital flowed between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong via the Stock Connect schemes.
Automobile firms were among the biggest gainers, after the news that China's auto sales had risen 12.8 percent year on year in September, the sixth consecutive month of growth.
Beiqi Foton Motor Co, Great Wall Motor Co and Chongqing Changan Automobile Co all surged by the daily limit of 10 percent.
The agricultural sector also led the rises. ChiNext-listed Xinjiang Tianshan Animal Husbandry Bio-Engineering Co soared by the maximum 20 percent, while Muyuan Foods Co and Jiangxi Zhengbang Technology Co both advanced by over 6 percent.
Shares related to vaccines also performed strongly. The Chinese health authority said on Tuesday it had received reports of 13 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland on Monday, including six that were domestically transmitted. Tibet Rhodiola Pharmaceutical Holding Co rocketed by the 10 percent cap, and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co was up over 6 percent.
Motorcycle firms, home appliance companies, and the daily chemical industry all posted gains, while brokerages, the real estate sector and iron and steel shares declined.
