Chinese stocks rose by the most in a week on Monday amid expectations of stimulus measures from Beijing to offset the impact of the trade war with the US.
The CSI 300 Index, a gauge of the nation’s biggest companies, advanced 0.2 per cent to 3,778.18 at the trading break, after jumping as much as 0.5 per cent to log the best intraday gain since April 14. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.3 per cent. Hong Kong’s stock market is closed for the Easter holiday and will reopen on Tuesday.
The gains were led by tech firms. Artificial intelligence chip designer Cambricon Technologies jumped 5.7 per cent to 707.60 yuan, while high-end processor maker for servers and computers Hygon Information Technology advanced 2.1 per cent to 152.82 yuan. Electric vehicle battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology rose 3.3 per cent to 232.78 yuan.
Limiting gains, Chinese baijiu maker Luzhou Laojiao fell 1.8 per cent to 129.43 yuan, while property developer China Vanke eased 1.9 per cent to 7.17 yuan.
Traders are betting on bolder stimulus in the coming months to help mitigate risks amid intensifying trade tensions between China and the US, according to global investment banks. While UBS, Goldman Sachs, Nomura and others have cut their forecasts for China’s economy, they expect more measures from Chinese policymakers to underpin the economy.
“We expect the government to accelerate bond issuance and the spending of proceeds in the coming months,” Andrew Tilton, an economist with Goldman Sachs, said in a note over the weekend.