China market ends in best week since June amid Beijing’s rescue efforts
Mainland measures to check stock slide working as index posts biggest weekly gain since rout
Shanghai shares ended yesterday posting their strongest weekly gain since last month, back when the benchmark index was hovering around a seven-year high.
Analysts urged caution about the rally, saying it had yet to prove itself as the turning point of a three-week rout that had wiped US$3 trillion off stock values.
Our strategy is to wait until prices are so attractive … for long-term opportunities
MARK MOBIUS, FUND MANAGER
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was evidence of the uncertainty still gripping stock investors - it gained 2.08 per cent yesterday, though was still down 4.46 per cent on the week for its worst weekly loss since March.
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, however, lauded the city's management of the crisis, when asked about the proposed Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect.
The sell-off has raised fresh questions on moves to integrate the mainland's volatile stock markets with Hong Kong's.
Speaking after a meeting with Shenzhen officials, Leung said: "We are fighting for its [the stock connect scheme with Shenzhen] commencement in accordance with the schedule. We are confident it will kick off as scheduled.
"As an international financial hub for the country, as well as the Chinese financial hub for the world, Hong Kong boasts certain advantages. Over the past few days, everyone was offered a glimpse into how Hong Kong's structure, legislations, policies and measures played their roles amid the fluctuation in the global markets."
Across the border, Beijing's battery of unconventional measures started to take effect on Thursday, helping the index to reverse early losses this week with a 5.2 per cent weekly gain.
Despite the turmoil, Shanghai remains the world's best-performing equity market with a nearly 20 per cent gain so far this year. However, investors are still grappling with deep losses as the index is 25 per cent off its peak on June 12.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 4.54 per cent yesterday, while the Shenzhen Composite Index climbed 4.09 per cent.
ChiNext, the Nasdaq-style technology and start-up board in Shenzhen, jumped 4.11 per cent.
About 60 companies yesterday applied to resume trading while 1,386 stocks, or half of the companies listed, remained suspended.
Deng Ge, a spokesman for the mainland securities regulator, yesterday said there would not be any initial public offerings in the near future.
Longer term, the number and size of fundraisings would be reduced significantly, Deng said.
He also said more than 655 companies had announced buy-back plans to stem the sell-off.
Meanwhile, foreign fund managers are debating on the current levels of stocks.
"Our strategy is to wait until prices are so attractive that it's time to look for further long-term opportunities," said Mark Mobius, the chairman of the Templeton Emerging Markets Group. "We believe that point is close with some stocks, but we probably haven't hit the bottom yet."
Kenrick Leung, a greater China equities investment director at fund manager Amundi, said the bottoming out signal could come when the People's Bank of China started to directly intervene in the market.
