05/11/2022 01:13am EDT
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China stocks rose on Wednesday as investors took comfort in signs of lower domestic COVID-19 infections, while U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to consider eliminating Trump-era tariffs on Beijing further listed risk appetite.
** The CSI300 index was up 2% at 4,000.00 points, by the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.6% to 3,085.43 points.
** The Hang Seng index added 1.7% to 19,971.18 points. The Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 2.4% to 6,818.91.
** Shanghai said on Wednesday half the city had achieved "zero-COVID" status, but uncompromising restrictions had to remain in place under a national policy. Meanwhile, new infections detected in Beijing dropped to the lowest level since April 26.
** The head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday China's zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy is not sustainable given what is now known of the virus.
** "Over the past week, the COVID situation has continued to improve at the national level," said Nomura in a note. "However, the turning point for economic fundamentals and most financial assets in coming weeks (or months) depends mainly on Beijing's stance on zero-COVID strategy instead of daily cases."
** Lifting market sentiment further, China's producer prices rose at the slowest pace in a year in April, despite the surge in global commodity costs, leaving room for more stimulus to shore up the flagging economy.
** Risks affecting China's onshore market are controllable, and the market has solid foundation for stable operation, the official CCTV reported on Tuesday, citing a securities regulatory official.
** Biden, under pressure to tame high inflation, said he was considering eliminating Trump era tariffs on China as a way to lower prices for goods in the United States.
** China equities could be approaching the late stage of a bear market, but the potential final leg is likely to be bumpy, Morgan Stanley strategists said in a note.
** The bank expected near-term market volatility to remain elevated, citing China's COVID situation, geopolitical tensions, global macro slowdown and monetary tightening.
** Semiconductors and new energy firms jumped more than 5% each to lead the gains, while shares in healthcare, tourism and machinery went up between 3.5% and 4.4%.
** Tech giants listed in Hong Kong climbed 4.6% to lift the Hang Seng benchmark, with index heavyweights Meituan and Tencent up 8.2% and 4.4%, respectively.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Sumber : Reuters