BEIJING: China’s stocks rose to an almost two-month high after data showed the world’s second-biggest economy expanded quicker than economists forecast in the third quarter.
The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.5 percent to 3,408.41 at the break, heading for the highest closing level since Aug. 21. Brokerages led gains for financial companies as share turnover jumped to a seven-week high and margin debt increased for a seventh day. Automaker BYD Co. surged 6.1 percent as consumer companies rallied.
China’s gross domestic product rose 6.9 percent in the three months through September from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday, beating economists’ estimates for 6.8 percent. Still, that was the slowest quarterly expansion since the first three months of 2009 and less than the government’s target of 7 percent for this year. Industrial output in September rose 5.7 percent, while retail sales increased 10.9 percent.
“Sentiment is positive on hopes for some more stimulus as the growth number beats the estimate but it’s still less than the government target,” said Yen Chiu, a Hong Kong-based trader at Shenwan Hongyuan Group Co. “The market won’t be as volatile as before with investors’ confidence on the mend.”
