BEIJING: China’s stocks rebounded from the biggest loss in a month as consumer and health-care companies rallied amid data showing an expansion in services and policy speculation during this week’s National People’s Congress.
Jiangsu Phoenix Publishing & Media Corp. soared 10 percent as media shares led gains for consumer companies reliant on economic growth. Xizang Haisco Pharmaceutical Group Co. also jumped by the daily limit, helping a gauge of health-care providers to the biggest gain among industry groups. Beijing SDL Technology Co. Ltd. sank 1.7 percent after surging by the daily limit for two straight days.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5 percent to 3,279.53 at the close, after dropping 2.2 percent on Tuesday. The Services Purchasing Managers’ Index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics climbed to 52 last month from January’s 51.8.
“The services PMI suggests China’s economy is about as solid in early 2015 as it was in early 2014,” said Bill Adams, senior international economist at PNC Financial Services Group. “There are still no signs of a collapse in growth in China.”
The CSI 300 Index added 0.7 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index slid 1.7 percent at 3:29 p.m., while the Hang Seng Index slipped 0.9 percent.