INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
SHANGHAI: China shares reversed course to end higher on Thursday, led by technology stocks, as Beijing pushed to seek technological
independence amid a bruising Sino-US trade war.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.3 per cent to 3,694.00, while the Shanghai Composite Index
and added 0.3 per cent to 2,815.80.
Major indexes opened sharply lower, following an overnight selloff on the Wall Street, after the US
Treasury yield curve temporarily inverted for the first time in 12 years.
Stocks then turned direction, led by gains for tech firms, with
the tech-heavy start-up board index ChiNext Price Index ending up 1.2 per cent, reversing a 2 per cent loss earlier.
Major indexes tracking
IT and telecoms firms gained 2.0 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively.
The US Treasury yield curve inversion bodes well for China's core
assets, as China has relatively ample room for interest rates operations, strong domestic production and consumption, as well as independent
markets and policies, even as Beijing further accelerates reform and opening up, Bohai Securities wrote in report.
There are chances that
China's bond and stock markets could turn bullish with the help of domestic and foreign capital, the brokerage added.
Real estate firms also
provided some support, after data showed modest gain in the country's new home prices.
The CSI300 real estate index closed up 0.2 per cent,
reversing an up to 2.6 per cent intraday loss when the market opened on Thursday.
China's new home prices rose in July as the property
sector held up as one of the few bright spots in the slowing economy, although easing momentum in some markets took immediate pressure off
regulators to unleash major new curbs to deter speculation.
Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.63 per cent,
while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 1.21 per cent.
At 0714 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 7.0246 per US dollar, 0.01 per cent firmer than
the previous close of 7.025.
The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were HPGC Renmintongtai Pharmaceutical Corp
, up 10.08 per cent, followed by Shanghai Tongda Venture Capital Co Ltd, gaining 10.03 per cent and Veken Technology Co Ltd, up by 10.02 per
cent.
The largest percentage losses in the Shanghai index were Pengqi Technology Development Co Ltd down 5.38 per cent, followed by Aurora
Optoelectronics Co Ltd losing 5.13 per cent and Pengqi Technology Development Co Ltd down by 4.96 per cent.
As of 0715 GMT, China's A-shares
were trading at a premium of 32.34 per cent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares
