China stocks end higher on materials, machinery boost; post weekly gain

Chinese shares closed higher on Friday, led by materials and machinery stocks, and posted a weekly gain as investors looked past recent bond market defaults and focused on broader economic recovery.

Chinese shares closed higher on Friday, led by materials and machinery stocks, and posted a weekly gain as investors looked past recent bond market defaults and focused on broader economic recovery. ** At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.44% at 3,377.73. ** The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.31%, with its material sector sub-index jumping 2.14% and the industrial sector sub-index gaining 1.36%. ** COSCO Shipping Holdings Co was the biggest boost to the industrial sub-index, rising 10% to its daily limit, while Zijin Mining Group Co added 7.2%, one of the biggest movers among material shares. ** The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 0.6% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index rose 0.83%. ** "Earnings recovery and sentiment upside remain intact despite the defaults and geopolitical uncertainty," analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a report. They expect A-shares to continue to outperform the offshore space in 2021 on attractive valuations. ** For the week, CSI300 rose 1.78%, while SSEC gained 2.04%. ** China's interbank bond market regulator said on Thursday it would launch probes into three banks for their role in underwriting bonds issued by Yongcheng Coal & Electricity Holding Group, which defaulted on a 1 billion yuan bond last week. ** The move comes after some Chinese state-firms, including the parent of BMW's Chinese venture partner Huachen and Tsinghua Unigroup, defaulted on debts and triggered a market sell-off. ** China left its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans unchanged for a seventh straight month at its November fixing on Friday, matching market expectations. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.52%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 0.42%.

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