Chinese stocks rally on government move

The nation’s top coal miner, Shenhua Energy Co. Ltd., said Shenhua Group bought 8.02 million shares listed in Shanghai, taking its holdings to 73.05 percent [Xinhua]

Chinese stocks staged a strong rally minutes after afternoon trade started on Thursday.

At 13:30 (local time), the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index surged nearly 5 per cent while the Shenzhen Component Index gained 4 per cent.

The rally followed the government’s fresh efforts to stem the stock market slide, with the key Shanghai index shedding nearly one third from its June peak.

Late Wednesday, the market regulator barred major shareholders and executives of listed companies from selling their shares for the next six months.

China’s largest oil refiner, Sinopec Corp., said Sinopec Group bought 46 million of its Shanghai-listed shares on Wednesday, or 0.04 per cent of its 121 billion shares, bringing its total holdings in its subsidiary to 71.3 per cent.

Sinopec Group promised to buy a maximum of 2 per cent of shares,including Wednesday’s purchase, in the coming 12 months.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) on Wednesday encouraged major shareholders and senior managers to steady stock prices by buying more shares when prices fall sharply.

The nation’s top coal miner, Shenhua Energy Co. Ltd., said Shenhua Group bought 8.02 million shares listed in Shanghai, taking its holdings to 73.05 per cent.

On the same day, Sinopec said in a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange that it expected its Q2 net profits to rise more than 10 fold compared with the previous quarter.

 

Source: Agencies