China stocks rise, bolstered by consumer and healthcare firms

SHANGHAI: China stocks ended higher yesterday as robust gains in consumer and healthcare firms helped the market recoup earlier losses after curbs out of Beijing weighed on the banking and property sectors.

The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.7 per cent, to 4,020.89 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index closed up 0.5 per cent at 3,388.17 points.

Consumer and health care firms led the gains with Yonghui Superstores surging 8.6 per cent to a new peak, leading a 2.9 per cent gain in consumer sector, while the world’s most valuable liquor maker Moutai also hit a fresh high.

An index tracking healthcare firms advanced 3.5 per cent to its highest level since its launch in early 2005, led by industry bellwether Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine scaling a new peak.

“The robust gains in those sector leaders reflects a change in investing philosophy that attaches more attention to solid fundamentals ,” said Y an Kai wen, analyst with China Fortune Securities. The change is aided in part by the participation of foreign investors, in particular the inclusion of China’s A-shares’ into an MSCI index, which is expected to bring in billions of dollars, Yan added.

Data from China’s central bank showed foreign holdings of Chinese shares exceeded 1 trillion yuan (US$150.61 billion) for the first time in September, as capital market deregulation and MSCI’s China inclusion fuelled demand for select blue chips.