The Chinese stock market, which had declined the previous day, closed steady on September 30. Analysts attribute this to investors adopting a wait-and-see approach ahead of the National Day holiday. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.31% to close at 3,842.19, while the Shenzhen Component Index fell 0.11% to 12,887.62, and the ChiNext Index decreased by 0.23% to 3,135.28.
On September 28, the State Council of China announced plans to strengthen economic responses, followed by the People's Bank of China unveiling economic stimulus measures on the afternoon of September 29. The central bank decided to lower the rate on pledged supplementary loans (PSL) from 1.75% to 1.5%, aiming to increase investments in infrastructure and technology. Additionally, a policy was announced to subsidize the mortgage interest for first-time homebuyers by 1 percentage point annually.
Following the announcement of these stimulus measures, the Chinese stock market started the day with gains but lost momentum, ultimately closing steady. The ongoing weak economic recovery and the cautious sentiment ahead of the National Day holiday are believed to have suppressed the indices.
On September 30, the National Bureau of Statistics of China reported that the manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for September stood at 50.1, up from 49.8 the previous month. This marks a return to expansion after two months below the baseline. A PMI above 50 indicates economic expansion, while below 50 indicates contraction. Although the PMI has returned to an expansion phase, the figure of 50.1 remains relatively low.
Furthermore, the Chinese stock market will be closed from October 1 to 7, reopening on October 8. The China Securities Journal noted that trading tends to contract before the National Day holiday as institutions adjust positions for quarterly evaluations and capital withdrawals.
Among notable stocks, the clinical research organization (CRO) sector showed strength. Nanmo Biological reached its daily limit, while Jinan Danbai and others recorded significant gains. Recently, several drug candidates from China, including oral obesity treatments, RAS, and bispecific antibodies, have been involved in large technology transfers to global pharmaceutical companies, each exceeding $2 billion.
The automotive sector also saw gains, with Jianghuai Automobile and GAC Group posting high increases. This uptick followed the announcement of a development plan for the automotive industry by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and eight other departments, aiming to cultivate several automakers among the top 10 in global sales and top 100 parts manufacturers by 2030.
Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China set the yuan's central parity rate against the dollar at 6.7351 yuan, a decrease of 0.0060 yuan from the previous day, reflecting a 0.09% appreciation of the yuan.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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