US-listed Chinese stocks jumped in premarket trading after Bloomberg News reported that regulators are considering new measures to aid the property market, buoying hopes that Beijing may roll out policy stimulus to reinvigorate a faltering economic recovery.
The exchange-traded KraneShares CSI China Internet Fund jumped 3.5% in the US premarket session. Among large-cap tech shares, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Baidu Inc. gained more than 2% each. KE Holdings Inc., a platform that facilitates housing transactions, rallied as much as 7.7%.
It’s not just Chinese shares that have gained. In Europe, luxury goods makers such as LVMH and Hermes International rose across the board. The mining sector, which relied heavily on metals demand from China, also soared, pushing the Stoxx 600 Basic Resources Index up by the most in seven months.
Bloomberg News reported Friday that China is planning to support its ailing housing market with new measures such as reducing down payment in some non-core neighborhoods of major cities, lowering agent commissions on transactions, and further relaxing restrictions for residential purchases under the guidance of the State Council. Separately, the State Council is mulling an extension of tax breaks on some electric cars, according to people familiar with the matter.
China Mulls New Property Support Package to Boost Economy
Speculation that authorities are considering policy stimulus to prop up the economy swirled on China’s social media and investing forums on Friday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed up by 4% in its biggest one-day gain in three months. That came after a 4.1% rally in the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index on Thursday.
Gauges for Chinese shares listed in Hong Kong and New York have been trading near the lowest level since November amid mounting signs that the post-Covid economic rebound has petered out. Calls for extra policy stimulus has gone louder this week, after economic data pointed to a slump in manufacturing activity.
