INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
SHANGHAI: China stocks rebounded on Thursday, encouraged by strong data that helped ease concerns about an economic slowdown amid trade
tensions and as worries over Italy cooled, while MSCI's inclusion of Chinese shares in its global indexes from Friday also boosted sentiment
For the day, the blue-chip CSI300 index rose 2.2 per cent to 3,802.38 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.8 per cent to
For the month, CSI300 was up 1.3 per cent, while SSEC gained 0.4 per cent
China's vast manufacturing sector grew at the fastest pace in eight months in May, blowing past expectations and easing concerns about an
economic slowdown even as risks from trade tensions with the United States and a crackdown on debt point to a bumpy ride ahead
On the whole, however, economists were sceptical of the sustainability of industrial sector strength, suggesting the broader economy will
face pressure over coming months
"We doubt this strength will be sustained for long given that it appears to mostly reflect a temporary boost to industrial output from the
easing of pollution controls rather than a turnaround in underlying demand," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, Senior China Economist at Capital
Economics, in a note after the data release
The International Monetary Fund kept its forecast for China's 2018 economic growth unchanged at 6.6 per cent on Wednesday, but warned that
overly rapid credit growth and trade frictions could pose risks for the world's second-largest economy
Sentiment was also lifted as political turmoil in Italy showed signs of easing
A degree of calm returned, with Italy's two anti-establishment parties renewing efforts to form a coalition government rather than force
Italy into holding elections for the second time this year
Sectors rallied across the board on Thursday, led by consumer and healthcare firms, with many of them favoured by foreign investors given
their Chinese-specific investing value
Industry bellwether Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial surged 10 per cent, leading a 4.5 per cent rally for the consumer sector
However, foreign buying of Chinese stocks was tepid on Thursday as benchmark indexes rose on the last trading day before mainland shares
join MSCI's emerging markets index
Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.78 per cent while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.83 per cent
At 07:02 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 6.4025 per U.S
dollar, 0.3 per cent firmer than the previous close of 6.4218.
