Asia stocks gain over trade war progress, with China shares posting biggest daily jump in 3 years
- Shanghai Composite Index enters bull market. So does CSI 300 Index
- Turnover in China tops US$3.4 trillion – the highest since November 2015
Asian stocks rose broadly on Monday, led by the biggest daily gain in Chinese shares in over three years, as funds flooded into the market on the back of the US decision to delay additional tariffs on Chinese goods.
The yuan also rose to a seven-month high as tensions eased.
Onshore yuan rose 0.6 per cent to 6.6718 yuan per US dollar before softening to 6.6836 yuan in the evening – the strongest level since July 16 last year. Offshore yuan meanwhile rose 0.4 per cent to 6.6730 yuan – its highest level since July 10 last year.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index skyrocketed by 5.6 per cent to 2,961.28. That was the largest daily gain since July 2015, the year when a massive market crash wiped out over 23 trillion yuan (US$3.4 trillion) in value.
The Shanghai benchmark and the CSI 300 Index – made up of major companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen – entered bull markets, with 20 per cent and 26 per cent gains from their January lows respectively. The ChiNext Index of start-ups also entered bull market on Friday. Bull markets require a gain of at least 20 per cent from a recent low.
Turnover in Shanghai and Shenzhen topped 1 trillion yuan, a milestone not achieved since November 2015 at the height of the bubble. That was more than three times the average daily turnover over the past three months as of Friday.