China’s stock-index futures rose after U.S. retail sales jumped and the Federal Reserve raised its assessment of the world’s biggest economy, boosting the outlook for exporters.
China Shipping Development Co. may pace gains by trade- related companies, while Jiangxi Copper Co. may advance among metals producers as metal and oil prices increased. Tianjin Tasly Pharmaceutical Co. may lead declines by drugmakers after the government vowed to extend drug-price cuts.
“Stocks will continue to rally as long as growth won’t slow too much,” Greg Lesko, who manages $700 million at Deltec Asset Management in New York including investments in Chinese stocks, said in a phone interview yesterday.
Futures on the CSI 300 Index (SHSZ300) expiring in March, the most active contract, gained 0.5 percent to 2,691 as of 9:20 a.m. local time. The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) climbed 20.94 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,455.80 yesterday. The CSI 300 Index rose 1 percent to 2,681.07. The Bloomberg China-US 55 Index (CH55BN), the measure of the most-traded U.S.-listed Chinese companies, added 2.1 percent in New York.
About 14.6 billion shares changed hands in the Shanghai Composite yesterday, or 21 percent higher than the daily average this year. Thirty-day volatility on the gauge was at 14.77, the lowest level since May.
U.S. Data
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU) rose to the highest level since 2007 yesterday after retail sales increased 1.1 percent in February, the most in five months. The Federal Reserve raised its assessment of the economy as the labor market gathers strength. After the close of trading, the Fed said 15 of the 19 largest U.S. banks could maintain adequate capital levels even in a recession scenario in which they continue paying dividends and buy back stock.
The U.S. is China’s second-largest export market, making up about 17 percent of the Asian nation’s overseas shipments, according to Shenyin & Wanguo Securities Co.
The Shanghai Composite has climbed 11 percent in 2012 following two years of losses on speculation the central bank will add to a Feb. 18 cut in reserve requirements to halt a slowdown in economic growth. Stocks in the index trade at 10.1 times estimated profit, compared with a record low of 8.9 times on Jan. 6, weekly data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
The London Metal Exchange Index of prices for six industrial metals including copper and aluminum rose 1.4 percent yesterday. Oil for April delivery was at $106.76 a barrel, up 5 cents, in electronic trading in New York today. The contract yesterday increased 37 cents to $106.71 a barrel, the highest close since March 9.
Health-care Plan
China’s pledge to extend drug-price cuts is part of an overhaul of its health-care system to trim the cost of caring for an aging population. Political leaders vowed to make medical care more affordable and widen coverage of state-paid health insurance. The plan will be supported by a tendering system tested in Anhui province that encourages drugmakers to compete on price and quality for state contracts.
Premier Wen Jiabao will hold his annual press briefing after the close of the National People’s Congress at about 10:50 a.m. in Beijing today.
New loans at China’s four biggest banks were less than 20 billion yuan in the first 11 days of this month, the 21st Century Business Herald reported today.
China Construction Bank Corp., Bank of China Ltd. and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. saw a decline of new loans as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Co. saw growth, according to the report.
Stimulus Effect
China’s economic stimulus since 2008 has failed to spur lasting gains in equity valuations even after gross domestic product rose more than 30 times faster than the world’s biggest economies.
The price-to-book ratio of the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index has declined 21 percent since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September 2008, reversing an increase of as much as 26 percent in 2009. The drop in China is the biggest among equity indexes in the four largest economies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Chinese stocks traded in the U.S. jumped for a fifth day, led by Sohu.com Inc. (SOHU), on speculation the government will take further steps to bolster the economy once the annual Congress meeting ends.
Sohu, Cnooc
The Bloomberg China-US 55 Index (CH55BN) of the most-traded Chinese equities in the U.S. gained 2.1 percent to 106.74 yesterday in New York, the highest level since Sept. 1. Sohu, which runs China’s fifth-most visited website, climbed the most since October after Citron Research named the company as its top pick among Chinese Internet shares. Energy explorer Cnooc Ltd. (CEO) rose the most in two weeks to trade at the highest premium to its Hong Kong stock since March 1.
The Bloomberg China-US 55 gauge has gained 3.6 percent since March 5, when Premier Wencut this year’s growth target to 7.5 percent from 8 percent in the previous seven years. The index’s five-day rising streak is the longest since Jan. 23.
The iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund, the biggest Chinese exchange-traded fund in the U.S., advanced 2.9 percent to $39.96, the biggest one-day rally in two months.
Tudou Holdings Ltd. (TUDO) extended gains after surging 157 percent to a record on March 12, when bigger competitor Youku Inc. said it would buy the online video sharing website in a $1 billion stock swap deal.
Shanghai-based Tudou rose 7.6 percent yesterday to $42.50, the highest level since its initial public offering in the U.S. in August. The shares have soared a total 268 percent over the past five trading days. American depositary receipts of Beijing- based Youku retreated 1.5 percent to $31.38 after jumping 27 percent on March 12.
‘Next Big Thing’
Sohu, based in Beijing, jumped 8.1 percent, the most since Oct. 27, to $53.62 yesterday, the highest level in five weeks.
Citron Research, which wrote reports questioned several Chinese companies’ financial reporting last year, said the increase in Tudou and Youku stock after the merger announcement signals “the market is valuing video in China as the next big thing,” according to a report on the firm’s website yesterday.
Qihoo 360 Technology Co. (QIHU), which develops computer software including anti-virus applications, desktops and browsers, added 5.7 percent to reach a six-month high of $23.10.
The Beijing-based company entered into a partnership with Phoenix New Media Ltd., owner of a Chinese news web portal, the companies said in a joint statement on March 12. Qihoo will add New Media’s news content to its desktop and other platforms for personal computers, according to the statement.
Qihoo will also add the computer game “Angry Birds,” made by Rovio Entertainment Oy, to its desktop from March 22, according to a statement on the company’s website.
Suntech Power
ADRs of Cnooc, the largest offshore oil explorer in China, added 4.3 percent to $224.50, the biggest daily increase in two months. The ADRs, each representing 100 common shares, traded 1 percent above the company’s Hong Kong stock, the biggest premium since March 1. Cnooc shares gained 2.4 percent to HK$17.24 in Hong Kong, the equivalent of $2.20.
Suntech Power Holdings Co. (STP), the world’s biggest maker of solar panels, rose before a U.S. Commerce Department ruling on Chinese imports on March 19. Suntech, based in Jiangsu province in eastern China, jumped 8.8 percent to $2.96, the most in eight weeks.
The Commerce Department is scheduled to rule on a claim by Bonn, Germany-based SolarWorld AG’s U.S. unit, Helios Solar Works, and five other solar-panel makers asserting that Chinese competitors receive unfair government support that lets them flood the market with cheap products.
--Zhang Shidong. Editors: Richard Frost, Allen Wan
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Zhang Shidong in Shanghai at szhang5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Darren Boey at dboey@bloomberg.net
Post je objavljen 14.03.2012. u 03:12 sati.