HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, March 31 (Reuters) - China shares climbed on Tuesday after the country reported a better-than-expected industrial activity, spurring hopes that the world's second-largest economy is starting to recover from the shock of the coronavirus pandemic. At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.4% at 2,758.81 points. The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.6%.
As of midday, the Shanghai benchmark was down 4.2% month-on-month, while CSI300 was lower by 6.2% over the month. Both benchmarks are on course for their worst month since May 2019.
CSI300's financial sector sub-index inched up 0.1%, the consumer staples sector gained almost 3%, the real estate index dropped 1.2%, while the healthcare sub-index ticked up 0.4%. Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong gained 1.1%, while the Hang Seng Index also rose 1.1% to 23,428.15. The smaller Shenzhen index and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index each added 0.8%. Factory activity in China unexpectedly expanded in March from a collapse the month before, but analysts caution that a durable near-term recovery is far from assured as the global coronavirus crisis knocks foreign demand and threatens a steep economic slump.
The pandemic is expected to sharply slow growth in developing economies in East Asia and the Pacific as well as China, the World Bank said in an economic update on Monday.
"While domestic work and production are resuming, reducing the financing cost will be critical to the economy's recovery," eToro's analysts said in a note.
They added that A-shares' muted reaction to a surprise interest rate cut on Monday "shows that investors are looking for more powerful stimulus policies and if it's absent, the market will continue to hover at a lower level." Mainland China reported on Tuesday a rise in new confirmed coronavirus cases, reversing four days of declines, due to an uptick in infections involving travellers arriving from overseas.
Around the region, MSCI 's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 1.2%, while Japan's Nikkei index was trading flat.
The Shanghai stock index is below its 50-day moving average and 200-day moving average.
Sumber : reuters.com
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