At close of trade, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.27%, or 8.49 points, to 3,205.84. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, added 0.46%, or 9.56 points, to 2,073.94. The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.86%, or 34.08 points, to 3,993.26.
Investors are growing optimistic about China's recovery, as China's Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday that the country's shift in COVID-19 policy would allow the economy to pick up pace, a day after a top-level party meeting pledged to focus on stabilising growth while optimising pandemic measures. The government also plans to boost vaccination, especially among the elderly, measures investors see as conducive to an eventual reopening of the economy.
China reported weak factory-gate and consumer prices for November on Thursday, indicating the surge in COVID cases and downbeat consumer sentiment were still weighing on the world's second-largest economy. The producer price index in November fell 1.3% year-on-year, contracting for a second month. The consumer price index was up 1.6%, weaker than 2.1% in October. Still, traders appeared to shrug off the data, as they remain optimistic that the worst of China's economic woes from COVID-19 is over.
Healthcare and consumer stocks advanced on hopes that they will benefit from eased COVID rules.
Property shares surged on signs of fresh support by Chinese state banks, as well as developer Sunac China's restructuring proposal. ECONOMIC NEWS: China's Consumer Price Inflation Eases In November- China's consumer price inflation continued to ease in November and factory gate prices decreased again as strict zero-Covid strategy dragged on economic activity, depressing inflationary pressures while spiraling costs act as utmost policy constraint in major economies. Consumer prices posted an annual increase of 1.6% in November, after October's 2.1% gain, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. November inflation stands well below Beijing's official target of around 3% for the year.
Within overall consumer prices, food price inflation eased sharply to 3.7%. At the same time, non-food prices posted a steady growth of 1.1%. On a monthly basis, consumer prices slid 0.2%, as expected. Data showed that core inflation that excludes food and energy dropped 0.6%, unchanged from October.
Another data from the NBS showed that producer prices dropped for the second straight month in November. Factory gate prices fell 1.3%, the same pace of decrease as seen in October.
CURRENCY NEWS: The Chinese currency climbed to a three-month high against the U.S. dollar as stronger mid-point fixing by central bank. The People's Bank of China set the midpoint rate CNY=PBOC at 6.9588 per U.S. dollar prior to market open, firmer than the previous fix 6.9606. The offshore yuan CNH=D3 was trading 0.06% stronger than the onshore spot at 6.9547 per dollar.
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