Mainland Chinese Stocks and the Country’s Economy

Mainland Chinese stocks rose on Monday in a mixed trading session across the Asia-Pacific as official data showed the country’s economy grew faster than expected between October and December. 

The Shanghai Composite gained 0.58% to end its trading day at 3,541.67. The Shenzhen component added 1.51% to 14,363.57.

The world’s second-largest economy rose by 8.1% in 2021, according to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics. In the last quarter of the year, China’s GDP grew by 4% from a year ago. 

According to the bureau, in December, industrial production grew by 4.3% from a year ago. Hopefully, auto production also rose in December. Since April, it grew for the first time, up by 3.4% year-on-year in December. 

The People’s Bank of China also reduced the borrowing costs of its medium-term loans for the first time since April 2020. The central bank said it was lowering the interest rate on 700 billion yuan ($110.19 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility loans to some financial institutions by ten basis points to 2.85%. 

This month, U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs reduced its 2022 forecast regarding China’s economic growth from 4.8% to 4.3%. 

U.S. markets are closed as today is Martin Luther King Jr.’s Day. 

Japanese Stocks on Monday

Japanese stocks also saw gains on the day. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.74% to 28,333.52. The Topix index advanced 0.46% to finish its trading day at 1,986.71.

In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 0.32% to 7,417.30. The heavily-weighted financials subindex added 0.55%, and the energy sector gained 1.39%.

South Korea’s Kospi declined on Monday. It dropped 1.09% to close at 2,890.1. The Kosdaq declined 1.39% to 957.90. 

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 0.68% to end its trading day at 24,218.03.