By the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.01 per cent at 3,566.67, while the blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.28 per cent. Leading the gains, its new-energy vehicle sector sub-index rose 3.6 per cent while the healthcare sub-index was up 2.38 per cent.
Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong rose 0.75 per cent to 11,822.15, while the Hang Seng Index was up 0.26 per cent at 29,718.86.
The smaller Shenzhen index was up 0.75 per cent, the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 2.94 per cent and Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR50 index was up 1.37 per cent.
China’s central bank injected a net 278 billion yuan on the day via reverse repo operations, according to Reuters calculation.
Chinese mom-and-pop investors are stampeding into the stock market for fear of missing out on the bull run, with more than 1.6 million share trading accounts newly opened in December, doubling from a year earlier, latest data shows.
China’s capital Beijing stepped up Covid-19 measures, after reporting the biggest daily jump in new cases in more than three weeks.
Sentiment in Hong Kong was also buoyed by a $1.9 trillion stimulus package proposal from U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who will be sworn in later in the day.
Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 2.03 per cent while Japan’s Nikkei index was down 0.74 per cent. ** The yuan was quoted at 6.4698 per U.S. dollar, 0.16 per cent firmer than the previous close of 6.48.
