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Equities edge up led by transportation companies

(China Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2009-11-06 08:39

Chinese stocks rose for a fifth day, led by transport companies, after China Eastern Airlines Corp received approval for a share sale and investors judged railway companies cheap relative to earnings prospects.

China Eastern jumped 5.1 percent. Daqin Railway Co and Guangshen Railway Co climbed 4 percent. Both stocks have trailed the Shanghai Composite Index's 73 percent rally this year.

Shanghai-related companies surged, led by Shanghai Pudong Road and Bridge Construction Co's 4.4 percent advance, on speculation the construction of Walt Disney Co's theme park in the city will boost income.

"Transport stocks are laggards; we'll see steady earnings growth among them next year as the demand for traveling and freight picks up along with the economy," said Wu Kan, a Shanghai-based fund manager at Dazhong Insurance Co, which manages about $285 million. "The market is expecting some changes to the stimulus packages and that may impact it in the short term."

The benchmark gauge rose 26.52, or 0.9 percent, to 3,155.05, capping the longest winning streak in two months and closing at the highest since Aug 11. The gauge has climbed 14 percent this quarter, the world's best performer, as the government stimulus package and record lending spurred the fastest economic growth in a year. The CSI 300 Index, measuring exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen, added 0.3 percent to 3,464.32.

Related readings:  HK stocks close 0.63% lower Thursday  Stocks up on upbeat earnings  China's Nasdaq stocks plunge  Taiwan stocks among best bets in 2010: Allianz SE

The World Bank on Wednesday raised China's economic growth forecast for this year to 8.4 percent from 7.2 percent and Beijing-based senior economist Louis Kuijs said the central bank will "eventually" have to rein in credit to ensure resources are properly allocated.

The Shanghai index has rebounded from a 65 percent plunge last year, when the global economic slump hammered China's exports. Fifteen percent of the country's factories shuttered production last year, while 36 percent of plants cut output, the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics' chief economist Yao Jingyuan said yesterday.

The nation's exports may grow by 8 percent to 10 percent in 2010, Liu Shijin, deputy director of the State Council Development Research Center said yesterday. Exports may return to growth at the end of this year, Liu said.

Hang Seng declines

Hong Kong stocks fell for the third time in four days.

The Hang Seng Index declined 0.6 percent to close at 21,479.08. The measure has surged 89 percent from a low for the year on March 9 as stimulus measures revived economies around the world. Shares on the gauge are priced at an average 17.1 times estimated profit, up from 10.6 times at the start of 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks H shares, slid 0.2 percent to 12,805.26.