China stocks rise on government vow to stabilise jobs, stimulus hopes

China stocks rose on Thursday after Premier Li Keqiang vowed to stabilise employment and revive disrupted supply chains, while a further drop in the number of daily COVID-19 cases implied the worst of might be over, rekindling hopes of more policy support.

China stocks rose on Thursday after Premier Li Keqiang vowed to stabilise employment and revive disrupted supply chains, while a further drop in the number of daily COVID-19 cases implied the worst of might be over, rekindling hopes of more policy support. The CSI300 index rose 0.4% to 3,910.07 by the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3% to 2,965.56.

The Hang Seng index climbed 1.2% to 20,190.06. The Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 1.3% to 6,874.84. ** Daily coronavirus caseload dropped for a fifth straight day. Mainland China reported 11,367 new coronavirus cases for Wednesday, down from 14,298 new cases a day earlier.

** Traders were closely watching if Beijing can successfully arrest a severe outbreak and avert a Shanghai-like lockdown, as the capital city closed some public spaces and rolled out three rounds of mass testing this week across a number of districts. ** To create more jobs, China will promote healthy development of its platform economy, according to a State Council meeting chaired by Premier Li.

** China will also tackle bottlenecks in supply chains affected by COVID by easing congestion at ports and airports and restoring delivery services, according to the meeting. ** "It's still too early for policymakers to give up the 5% growth bottom line for this year," economists at Macquarie Capital said in a note. "Once the current COVID wave is under control, they will likely double down policy supports to make up for the loss from lockdowns."

** Real estate developers and banks rose 2% and 1.6%, respectively, while energy stocks gained 3.7% and liquor makers added 2.4%. ** Tech giants listed in Hong Kong climbed 0.7% following Premier Li's pledge, with index heavyweight Alibaba Group rising 3.7% to be the biggest boost for the Hang Seng Index.