China: Stocks rise as President Xi rules out hard landing, up for 3rd week

[SHANGHAI] China stocks rose more than 1 per cent on Friday after President Xi Jinping said the economy will not suffer a hard landing, and as home price data suggested a mild recovery in the Chinese property market.

The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen and the Shanghai Composite Index both rose around 1.3 per cent to 3,571.24 points and 3,412.43 points, respectively.

Both indices rose for the third week in a row, with the CSI300 up 1.1 per cent and the SSEC 0.6 per cent.

Mr Xi said on Wednesday during a state visit to Britain that China would avoid a sharp slowdown, though he acknowledged there was some downward pressure on the world's second-largest economy. Housing data on Friday, meanwhile, showed home prices in China rose for a fifth consecutive month in September, suggesting a mild recovery in the housing market that will relieve some pressure on the economy.

However, a solid rebound is unlikely any time soon. While home prices and sales have improved in recent months after a barrage of government support measures, conditions remain weak in smaller cities and a huge overhang of unsold houses is discouraging new investment and construction. Investor sentiment in the mainland and Hong Kong was also buoyed by a rally in global equities thanks to ECB's readiness to extend its bond-buying programme to stoke the euro zone economy and spark inflation there.

China's health care subindex and the real estate index both jumped 3.3 per cent. Shenzhen's start-up board ChiNext climbed 3.5 per cent.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index advanced 1.3 per cent.

Shares of Air China Ltd and China Southern Airlines Co Ltd tumbled in both Shanghai and Hong Kong after they dismissed a media report of a possible merger.

REUTERS