SHANGHAI: China’s main Shanghai stock market rose slightly on Tuesday, but both the blue-chip index and the start-up board ChiNext dipped in holiday-thinned trade, as banking system liquidity remains relatively tight.
Hong Kong market is closed for the Christmas holiday, so the cross-border Connect scheme which typically contributes to China market liquidity is also shut. The one-month Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate (Shibor) rose to 4.9277 percent on Tuesday, the highest level since April, 2015. At 04:09 GMT, the Shanghai Composite index was up 5.95 points or 0.18 percent at 3,286.41. China’s blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.29 percent, with its financial sector sub-index higher by 0.15 percent, the consumer staples sector down 1.45 percent, the real estate index up 0.45 percent and healthcare sub-index down 0.95 percent . The smaller Shenzhen index was down 0.11 percent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 0.24 percent. Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was a touch weaker by 0.04 percent while Japan’s Nikkei index was down 0.10 percent . The yuan was quoted at 6.552 per U.S. dollar, 0.17 percent weaker than the previous close of 6.5408. The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Jiangsu Wuzhong Industrial Co Ltd up 10.04 percent, followed by Yabao Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd gaining 10.04 percent and First Tractor Co Ltd up by 10.03 percent. The largest percentage losses in the Shanghai index were Luenmei Quantum Co Ltd down 8.55 percent, followed by Tongwei Co Ltd losing 6.49 percent and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd down by 6.04 percent. So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is up 5.7 percent, while China’s H-share index is up 24.0 percent. Shanghai stocks have declined 1.11 percent this month. About 7.56 billion shares have traded so far on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 48.3 percent of the market’s 30-day moving average of 15.66 billion shares a day. The volume traded was 14.69 billion as of the last full trading day. The Shanghai stock index is below its 50-day moving average and above its 200-day moving average. The price-to-earnings ratio of the Shanghai index was 14.77 as of the last full trading day while the dividend yield was 2 percent. So far this week, the market capitalisation of the Shanghai stock index has fallen by 0.42 percent to 28.67 trillion yuan.
