Shanghai stocks reverse losses on strong property shares

Shanghai stocks reversed early losses to end firmer on Wednesday, bolstered by a surge in property shares and resources firms.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up 4.21 points or 0.13 percent at 3,337.86 points.

The blue-chip CSI300 index was down 0.05 percent to close at 4,053.75 points, with its financial sector subindex higher by 0.77 percent, the consumer staples sector down 2.39 percent, the real estate index up 6.96 percent and the healthcare sub-index down 1.49 percent.

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index inched down by 0.08 percent to close the day at 11,082.13 points while the start-up board ChiNext index was weaker by 0.36 percent.

Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.11 percent while Japan’s Nikkei index closed up 0.49 percent.

The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai index were Poly Real Estate Group Co up 10.02 percent, followed by Shanghai Chinafortune Co gaining 10.02 percent and SJEC Corp up by 10 percent.

The largest percentage losses in the Shanghai index were Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co down 7.67 percent, followed by HUAYU Automotive Systems Co losing 5.61 percent and Joincare Pharmaceutical Group Industry Co down by 4.74 percent.

So far this year, the Shanghai stock index has gone up 7.41 percent, while China’s H-share index listed in Hong Kong has gone up 24.6 percent. Shanghai stocks have declined 1.76 percent this month. So far this week, the market capitalization of the Shanghai stock index has fallen by 0.66 percent to 28.93 trillion yuan.