Chinese stocks and the yuan rose sharply after Beijing signaled fresh support for the struggling economy, including further easing of policy curbs in the troubled property sector.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks major Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong, gained as much as 4.4%, the most since June 2. The offshore yuan gained 0.4% at 7.1576 per dollar, while China’s 10-year government bond yield also rose to 2.65%, the highest in about a month.
China’s top leaders on Monday pledged to boost consumption and offer more support for the troubled property sector to help revive a slowing economy. While it fell short of announcing large-scale stimulus, the statement from the ruling Communist Party’s 24-member Politburo indicates a stronger recognition of the economic challenges, with strategists saying Beijing is showing more resolve to boost growth.
Read more: China Holds Off on Major Stimulus as It Signals Property Easing
“I think the markets will get an initial boost from the stress on domestic demand support, especially consumption,” said Duncan Wrigley, chief China economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “The section on the property market is incrementally more supportive. And no explicit mention of ‘houses are for living in, not speculation’.”
Beijing’s latest pledge to lift the housing sector out of a severe slump also triggered a rebound in developers’ dollar bonds, led by those from Country Garden Holdings Co., one of the country’s biggest builders.
--With assistance from Tania Chen.
