Shanghai stocks close flat as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang warns about the employment situation
- Shanghai Composite Index rose less than 0.1 per cent to 3,004.14 on Monday
- BYD eases 3.9 per cent even after company denies allegations that pollution from its Changsha plant did not cause nosebleeds in children
Mainland Chinese stocks closed marginally higher even as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang warned of a “complicated and grim” outlook and urged local governments to rescue the economy and ensure jobs stability amid the Covid outbreak.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose less than 0.1 per cent to 3,004.14 on Monday, a level last seen on April 29. The Shenzhen Component Index lost 0.4 per cent to 10,765.63.
Hong Kong’s stock market was closed for a public holiday.
Pharmaceuticals firms stood out in Shanghai. China Meheco and China Res Double-Crane climbed 3.2 per cent to 26.43 yuan and 10 per cent to 30.16 yuan, respectively. Jiangxi Synergy Pharmaceutical surged 20 per cent to 28.32 yuan in Shenzhen.
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A month underground: Shanghai metro workers sleep in stations to keep trains running
The Shanghai Composite Index has retreated over 17 per cent this year, while the Shenzhen Component Index has tumbled 27.5 per cent, wiping out around 17.7 trillion yuan (US$2.6 trillion) of market value in total amid mounting economic toll from stringent curbs under China’s zero-Covid policy.
