China stocks rebounded on Wednesday, but volumes were thin as many traders had already left for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday that starts on Thursday. Chinese markets will reopen on February 22 Unnerved by a slump in their stock market in the past two weeks, many Chinese investors have played it safe by reducing their equity holdings ahead of the holiday. Others who are reluctant to scale back their positions say they have hedged their portfolios via index futures and options.
At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 14.52 points or 0.46 percent at 3,199.48. The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.8 percent, with its financial sector sub-index higher by 0.64 percent, the consumer staples sector up 1.05 percent, the real estate index up 0.75 percent and healthcare sub-index up 1.12 percent.
The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 0.48 percent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 0.11 percent. Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.86 percent while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 0.43 percent. At 07:05 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 6.338 per US dollar, 0.03 percent firmer than the previous close of 6.34.
The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Henan Ancai Hi-tech Co Ltd up 10.06 percent, followed by Changchunjingkai Group Co Ltd gaining 10.04 percent and Hainan Yedao Group Co Ltd up by 10 percent. The largest percentage losses in the Shanghai index were Zhongnongfa Seed Industry Group Co Ltd down 8.78 percent, followed by Shanghai Shenhua Holdings Co Ltd losing 8.4 percent and Shanghai Zhongyida Co Ltd down by 7.17 percent.
About 10.03 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 45.7 percent of the market's 30-day moving average of 21.95 billion shares a day. The volume in the previous trading session was 15.15 billion. As of 07:06 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 28.58 percent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. The Shanghai stock index is below its 50-day moving average and below its 200-day moving average. The price-to-earnings ratio of the Shanghai index was 14.61 as of the last full trading day while the dividend yield was 2 percent.
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