A Touch Firmer To End The Week As Bulls Look To Policy Support

Policy support measures allowed the CSI 300 to register its most notable weekly gain (+2.2%) since July, with the index adding 0.7% during Friday trade.

• The latest round of enacted property market support and deposit rate cuts at major banks provided light tailwinds ahead of the weekend (the moves were telegraphed/widely expected), although worry surrounding China’s economic health continues to limit gains.
• Property names benefitted from the sector-related support, while the major banks were mixed in the wake of the above announcements.
• Elsewhere, RTRS sources flagged the likelihood of further support for the property sector, which helped put a light bid into the benchmark index ahead of the close, although it still closed comfortably shy of best levels of the day.
• The index finished ~2.6% off the recent lows, with Monday’s opening spike high presenting the initial point of technical interest (although that is some way off prevailing levels and hasn’t been re-tested all week).
• Weather-related closure of Hong Kong’s financial markets meant that the HK-China Stock Connect schemes were closed on Friday.