Chinese Stocks Climb For Best Gain In A Week

Chinese stocks overcame early volatility to post their biggest gain in a week on Monday, suggesting that investors are optimistic the government will follow through on its promise of more fiscal support, Bloomberg News reported.

The gain helped revive China’s historic stock rally after it stumbled last week.

At a much-anticipated briefing on Saturday, Finance Minister Lan Fo’an pledged new measures to support the property sector and hinted at increased government borrowing.

While authorities did not provide a specific dollar figure that investors had hoped for, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. viewed the latest measures as an indication of increased policy focus on growth.

The firm subsequently upgraded its forecasts for China’s economic expansion in 2024 and 2025.

The CSI 300 Index rose 1.9% at the close, marking a 25% increase from its September low. The gain helped revive China’s historic stock rally after it stumbled last week. A Shanghai Stock Exchange gauge of property stocks surged 4.7%.

Increased fiscal spending is still seen as crucial for sustaining the rebound initiated by the central bank’s stimulus efforts in late September.

Traders are betting that the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, will approve additional budget funding at its meeting later this month.