China stocks end mixed ahead of key briefing by new stock regulator chief
- Yi Huiman, head of China Securities Regulatory Commission, expected to shed light on new tech board, reforms during Beijing press conference
China stocks see-sawed and ended mixed on Wednesday as selling escalated when the Shanghai benchmark tested a key level ahead of a briefing by the chairman of the nation’s stock regulator.
The Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.4 per cent higher at 2,953.82. The benchmark surged 1.9 per cent to an intraday high of 2996.03 in the afternoon – just points away from the psychologically important level of 3,000 points – but later pared some of the gains as selling forces strengthened around the level.
The Shenzhen Composite Index fell 0.6 per cent, and the CSI 300 Index of large companies eased 0.2 per cent. The Shanghai benchmark and the CSI 300 Index entered a bull market in a dramatic rally on Monday, which lifted the cumulative gain to more than 20 per cent from their January lows.
“There are market voices that believe the Shanghai Composite Index will have to correct and consolidate when it touches 3,000 points, and this has affected some investors’ decisions,” said Lu Shunxi, a Shanghai-based investment director who was speaking in a private capacity.
Turnover on China’s markets stood at 891 billion yuan (US$133 billion), easing from the 1 trillion yuan achieved on both Monday and Tuesday but still nearly three times the average daily turnover over the past three months.
Traders were also waiting for a clearer signal on the setting up of a new technology board and market reforms from Yi Huiman, the newly-appointed chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Yi was set to hold a press conference in Beijing after the market close on Wednesday, his first since he took office in late January.