UpdateChina’s ‘national team’ pushes Shanghai benchmark up before IMF’s yuan decision on SDR
Yuan softens as Shanghai index rises 3.23 per cent in November; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slides 2.84 per cent on the month
China’s national team rushed to the stock market to buy bank shares late on Monday, nudging the Shanghai benchmark to close marginally higher and erase midday losses of 3 per cent ahead of the IMF decision to add the yuan into its Special Drawing Rights basket later in the day.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index eked out a gain of 0.26 per cent or 9.10 points to finish at 3,445.41. The index gained 3.23 per cent this month, sharply off from the October increase of 10.80 per cent. The CSI300 Index crawled up 0.26 per cent, or 9.42 points to 3,566.41.
Hong Kong’s stock market traded sideways in a narrow band, as investors folded their arms to wait for the final decision from the IMF.
The Hang Send Index closed 0.33 per cent, or 71.90 points lower at 21,996.42, posting a monthly drop of 2.84 per cent. The H-share Index tracking mainland based Chinese companies lost 0.66 per cent, or 65.02 points, to 9,790.64.
The Shenzhen Composite Index advanced 0.89 per cent, or 19.49 points to 2,203.61. The Nasdaq-style ChiNext rose 0.87 per cent, or 23.03 points to 2,672.58.
Kevin Leung, a strategist with Haitong International Securities in Hong Kong, said unless “unexpected” things happen overnight with the IMF’s final decision, the Hong Kong market would be stable, “as many investors have priced in an inclusion of yuan”.