Nikkei: 8,738.90 (–34.78) Hang Seng: 18,329.46 (+187.87) Shanghai Comp: 2,420.00 (+71.48)CHINESE STOCKS had their best day for a year yesterday, as investors took heart from the prospect of government support for the battered market.
The Shanghai Composite index rose 3 per cent in relatively heavy turnover.
The market showed little response on Tuesday to an announcement that Central Huijin, the domestic investment arm of China’s sovereign wealth fund, would buy shares of the country’s biggest banks.
The banking sector powered ahead yesterday with China Minsheng Banking gaining 4.9 per cent to Rmb5.76.
Brokerage stocks rallied on reports that regulators had approved cross-border exchange traded funds. Haitong Securities leapt 10 per cent to Rmb8.87.
Honda Motor fell 2.2 per cent to ¥2,295 after the car maker was forced to close a factory in Thailand due to the worst flooding in the country for five decades.
Nikon and Pioneer were also forced to close production facilities, sending their shares down 3.5 per cent to ¥1,780, and 4.3 per cent to ¥314, respectively. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011)
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