Chinese shares bounce back to rally on signs of economic pace

Chinese shares edged higher on Tuesday following the biggest one-day plunge for China's major stock indexes in more than three years, as investors looked to Beijing for signs of more support for the economy. ** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.32 percent at 2,915.87, after plunging 5.6 percent on Monday. ** China's blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.77 percent after Monday's 5.8 percent drop. Its financial sector sub-index was lower by 0.23 percent, the consumer staples sector was up 2.13 percent, the real estate index was up 2.15 percent and the healthcare sub-index added 1.7 percent.

Monday's stock market plunge had been sparked by tweets from U.S. President Donald Trump that he would raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 per cent from 10 per cent by the end of the week, and would "soon" target the remaining Chinese imports with tariffs. Senior U.S. officials said that China has backtracked on commitments it made during trade talks. ** On Monday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said that China's trade negotiation team is "preparing to go to the United States for the discussions."

"The foreign ministry's statement has helped to alleviate some of the market's concerns over China-U.S. talks," analysts at Dongguan Securities said in a note. While noting positive factors including robust data, "increased uncertainty in Sino-U.S. trade negotiations will still have an impact on the market," they said.

The analysts also highlighted a move by China's central bank to cut reserve requirement ratios for some small and medium-sized banks to help smaller companies struggling amid tougher economic conditions. ** A sub-index tracking agriculture shares rose 3.07 per cent. Some agriculture firms had rallied on Monday amid expectations that domestic agriculture firms could benefit if Beijing retaliated against higher U.S. tariffs.

Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong fell 0.07 per cent to 11,225.41, while the Hang Seng Index was up 0.16 per cent at 29,257.23. ** The smaller Shenzhen index was up 1.47 percent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index rose 0.89 percent. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index gained 0.25 percent while Japan's Nikkei index slipped 1.51 percent.

The yuan was quoted at 6.7769 per U.S. dollar, 0.22 per cent weaker than the previous close of 6.7622. ** The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Harbin High-Tech Group Co Ltd, up 10.1 percent, followed by Jinjian Cereals Industry Co Ltd , gaining 10.08 percent and Apple Flavor & Fragrance Group Co Ltd, up by 10.04 percent.

The largest percentage losers in the Shanghai index were Kangmei Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, down 10.01 per cent, followed by TVZone Media Co Ltd, losing 10 per cent and Ningbo Tianlong Electronics Co Ltd, down by 9.99 per cent. ** So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is up 16.54 percent, while China's H-share index is up 11.0 percent. Shanghai stocks have declined 5.58 percent this month.

The top gainers among H-shares were China Gas Holdings Ltd, up 2.89 per cent, followed by CNOOC Ltd, gaining 2.67 per cent and Anhui Conch Cement Co Ltd, up by 2.11 per cent. ** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were Huatai Securities Co Ltd, which has fallen 1.46 percent, China Life Insurance Co Ltd, which has lost 1.4 percent and Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd, down by 1.4 percent. ** In Hong Kong, the sub-index of the Hang Seng index tracking energy shares rose 1 percent while the IT sector was flat. The top gainer on the Hang Seng was CNOOC Ltd, up 2.67 percent, while the biggest loser was AAC Technologies Holdings Inc, which was down 1.51 percent.