Surprise China, stocks rally. What happens today?
China is the absolute protagonist of the markets today, with a stock rally indicating a change in investor sentiment towards the dragon.
Chinese indices have been in the spotlight of traders for weeks and so far have recorded negative and disappointing performances.
Signs of a massive intervention by state authorities to revive the economic and financial fortunes of the second world power were expected and finally some messages of support arrived today.
Chinese and Hong Kong stocks then rebounded.
In detail, the Asian session is closing with noteworthy gains: the Shenzhen index +6.04%, the Shanghai Composite +3.23%, Dow Jones Shanghai +4.21%, CSI 300 +3.48% , Hang Seng +3.97%.
The rally has reversed the turbulent and pessimistic climate that has dominated Chinese markets so far.
The blue-chip index plunged to a five-year low last week, and in yesterday's trading day alone, Monday, February 5, the nation's small-cap stocks tumbled more than 6%.
The turning point came with unequivocal indications from Beijing to step up efforts to curb the ailing market and support it.
Meanwhile, investors in the US and Europe remain cautious and bets on Fed and ECB rate cuts are becoming more cautious.
China, is it a turning point for the markets? Stocks are flying, here's why A series of announcements from China's securities regulator, as well as a meeting between President Xi Jinping and financial regulators expected today Tuesday, have highlighted the urgency of Chinese authorities to stem the heavy losses in its stock market, which has fallen to multi-year lows in recent days.
Among the changes announced, which pushed the shares towards the rebound, stands out the promise by Central Huijin Investment Ltd., the unit that holds Chinese government stakes in large financial institutions, to buy more exchange-traded funds to maintain the smooth functioning of the capital market.
Every effort will be made to maintain stable market operations, the CSRC said in a commentary.
Furthermore, according to rumors reported by Bloomberg, President Xi Jinping will receive Chinese financial market regulators to be updated on the situation and any interventions, underlining Beijing's urgency to support the collapse of the country's shares.
“It seems like they're really doing everything they can to try to turn the stock market around.
The news that President Xi is talking to financial regulators about stocks, I think is also another sign that the president himself is taking the issue seriously,” Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ, commented in Reuters.
So far, China's confidence-boosting measures have shown little success and have been assessed as piecemeal and ineffective.
The dragon faces a crisis in multiple areas, with an ongoing economic slowdown, Xi's growing control over private businesses and the government's radical repression that has affected the country's activities, tensions with the USA that are revolutionizing global trade and the collapse of the real estate sector.