Chinese stocks rise after break

Source: Xinhua | 2018-02-23

CHINESE stocks surged yesterday, the first trading day after the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.17 percent to close at 3,268.56 points, while the smaller Shenzhen Component Index ended 2.18 percent higher at 10,658.94 points. The ChiNext Index, which tracks China’s NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.88 percent to 1,677.77 points.

Combined turnover on the two bourses grew to 325.8 billion yuan (US$51.3 billion) from 236.9 billion yuan the previous trading day.

Nonferrous metals, food and beverage, as well as leisure sectors led the sharp gains, with over 40 stocks up the 10-percent daily limit.

Sales in the retail and catering sectors reached 926 billion yuan during the holiday, up 10.2 percent from last year, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

Chinese consumption habits during the holiday were likely to boost apparel and household appliances sectors, said Guotai Junan Securities.