Stocks end higher, aided by tech shares

Chinese mainland stocks rebounded from heavy losses on Thursday, bolstered by tech shares as the US is set to lift its ban on ZTE Corp.

The Shanghai Composite Index got back to a psychologically key 2,800-point level on Thursday, surging 2.16 percent to end at 2,837.66 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index also jumped 2.16 percent to 3,481.06 points.

The US Commerce Department on Wednesday said that it signed an agreement with ZTE to remove a ban on the Chinese firm from doing business with American suppliers once it deposits $400 million in an escrow account.

Following this, shares related to 5G and chip technologies posted robust gains. Shenzhen’s ChiNext, a tech-heavy NASDAQ-style board, jumped 3.30 percent to end at 1,614.63 points.

Meanwhile, investors’ sentiment was also supported by positive comments from State media.

A report released by the Xinhua News Agency early Thursday helped ease market concerns over US tariffs, citing securities analysts’ comments that the valuation of A shares have entered into a reasonable range, and compared with other stock markets around the world, the mainland market is “significantly undervalued.”

In addition, the report said that Chinese financial authorities have taken “unprecedented” measures to ward off risks and stabilize the market.