Economy

Markets

Industries

Insights

Reports

Events

Share buybacks spur 3.6% rebound

(China Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-26 14:54

China's benchmark stock index jumped 3.64 percent yesterday to its highest close in more than three weeks, supported by share buybacks by State-owned firms and by signs of progress in long-awaited market reforms.

The Shanghai Composite Index ended at 2297.501 points, its highest close since Sept 2, after rising to as high as 2333.277.

Turnover rebounded to 83.3 billion yuan, up sharply from Wednesday's diminished 48.90 billion, while gaining shares overwhelmed fallers by 850 to 65.

The parent of China Unicom, a major telecommunications services provider, bought back 50 million shares of the listed subsidiary as major State-owned firms heed the authorities' call to buy shares of their listed units to prop up the stock market.

China Unicom rose 2.45 percent to 5.43 yuan.

"The market should have the potential to rise further as the government appears determined to support it, with more firms' shares expected to be bought back by their parents," said Cao Xuefeng, senior stock analyst at West China Securities.

Analysts said they believed the index should be able to test the psychologically important 2500 mark within two or three weeks after the week-long National Day holiday next week.

The longer-term trend, however, would depend on global financial market conditions as well as China's monetary policy and economy, analysts said.

China's government announced a package of market rescue measures last Thursday, including government purchases of shares in listed State-controlled firms, and encouraged State-owned firms to buy back shares in their listed units, as it moved to snap a protracted stock market slump that pulled the benchmark index to 22-month lows.

Banking shares have benefited heavily from the announcement of the rescue plan.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's largest lender, ended up 1.86 percent at 4.37 yuan yesterday. It rose by its 10 percent daily limit for two consecutive sessions after the package was announced.

Brokerage shares got a boost from news that the securities regulator has asked China's two stock exchanges to submit final plans for the introduction of margin trading and short-selling of shares, long-delayed reforms intended to boost the volume of stock market trading.

CITIC Securities jumped its 10 percent daily limit to end at 23.08 yuan, while Haitong Securities Co Ltd also climbed its 10 percent limit to 19.66 yuan.

Bright Dairy jumped its daily 10 percent limit to 4.87 yuan, after China gave reassurances that milk products in the country were safe.