By John Liu
April 15 (Bloomberg) -- China’s stocks rose for a fifth day, its longest-winning streak in three weeks, as software makers surged on speculation the government will aid the industry.
Neusoft Corp. and Shanghai Baosight Software Co. jumped by the 10 percent daily limit. Huaneng Power International Inc., the listed unit of China’s largest power group, declined 1.2 percent after saying first-quarter output fell. China Southern Airlines Co., the nation’s biggest carrier by fleet size, slid 1.8 percent after reporting its first annual loss in three years.
“There is speculation that the technology industry will be included in a new stimulus plan aimed at boosting domestic consumption,” said Sun Chao, an analyst at Citic Securities Co. in Shanghai.
The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China’s stock exchanges, rose 8.88, or 0.4 percent, to 2,536.06 at the close after changing direction at least seven times. The five-day gain is the longest since March 24. The CSI 300 Index, measuring exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen, added 0.4 percent to 2,686.99.
The Shanghai Composite’s 39 percent gain this year makes it the second-best performer among the 88 primary stock gauges tracked by Bloomberg globally. Stocks have rallied on optimism the government’s 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus package and record new lending will spur a recovery in the world’s third-largest economy amid the global recession. Interest rates were cut five times from September to December.
New Plan?
Neusoft climbed the maximum 10 percent to 20.69 yuan, the highest since March 2008. Shanghai Baosight Software jumped 10 percent to 25.78 yuan. Shandong Langchao Cheeloosoft Co. advanced 10 percent to 13.45 yuan. China National Software & Service Co. climbed 6.2 percent to 32.85 yuan. Shenzhen Kingdom Technology Co., a financial software developer, added 4 percent to 13.27 yuan.
China’s government is considering additional stimulus measures to boost consumption and bolster growth just as the nation shows more signs of recovering.
The government will issue some “guideline” policies and continue to use fiscal and taxation measures to spur an expansion, the official China Securities Journal reported yesterday, citing Gao Huiqing, a researcher at the State Information Center as saying on April 11.
China’s economy probably expanded 6.3 percent from a year earlier in the first quarter, the slowest pace in almost 10 years, according to the median estimate of 12 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The statistics bureau is due to release the figure tomorrow.
Foreign direct investment dropped 9.5 percent from a month earlier to $8.4 billion in March, the sixth straight monthly decline, the commerce ministry said at a briefing in Beijing today. For the first quarter, spending fell 20.6 percent.
Huaneng Power
Huaneng Power, the listed unit of China’s largest power group, retreated 1.2 percent to 7.76 yuan. The company said output in the first quarter of this year fell 9.3 percent.
China Southern lost 1.8 percent to 6.17 yuan. The carrier slumped to its first annual loss in three years after natural disasters and an economic slowdown sapped air travel. The loss was 4.8 billion yuan, it said.
“If earnings don’t catch up, I doubt the rally can go much further,” said Wang Zheng, a fund manager at Jingxi Investment Management Co. in Shanghai.
The following companies were among the most active in China’s markets. Stock symbols are in brackets after companies’ names.
Offshore Oil Engineering Co. (600583 CH), a unit of the country’s third-largest oil producer, climbed 5.9 percent to 17.72 yuan after profit for 2008 rose 10 percent to 1.2 billion yuan.
Shanghai Chengtou Holding Co. (600649 CH), which supplies water to parts of the city, gained 2.8 percent to 11.89 yuan. Shanghai’s government plans to raise the price of drinking water for the first time in seven years, the Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday.
Wuhan Iron & Steel Co. (600005 CH), China’s fifth-biggest steelmaker by value, slid 4.5 percent to 7.67 yuan. Wuhan Steel said it had no plans to issue bonus shares and had not held talks with institutional investors on the exercise of warrants.
To contact the reporter on this story: John Liu in Shanghai at jliu42@bloomberg.net
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment