The impact of politics on stock prices
Will the upcoming 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China affect Chinese stock market investors? Don’t hold your breath.
People say that history always repeats itself and the impact on the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index during previous meetings of the National Congress might offer some insight into what to expect this time.
The 17th congress: 5903.3 points on October 12, 2007 (opening date of the congress) versus 5818.0 points on October 19, 2007 (closing date); the index lost 85 points in total, down 1.4 per cent.
The 16th congress: 1554.2 points on November 7, 2002 versus 1460.8 points on November 14, 2002; the index lost 93 points, down 6.0 per cent.
The 15th congress: 1242.7 points on September 11, 1997 versus 1172.4 points on September 18, 1997; the index lost 70 points, down 5.7 per cent.
The 14th congress: 660.3 points on October 9, 1992 versus 632.4 points on October 19, 1992; the index lost 58 points, down 4.2 per cent.