China shares headed for 6th straight daily gain, rain storm delays HK open

Business & Markets 2013
Written by Reuters
Wednesday, 22 May 2013 12:34
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HONG KONG (May 22): China shares were headed for a sixth-straight
daily gain on Wednesday, with most automakers strong after the official
China Securities Journal cited an industrial association as saying that
May car sales could stay strong.
Hong Kong markets will start trading from 0500 GMT, when Galaxy
Securities will make its listing debut, after authorities lifted a severe
rainstorm warning that forced the cancellation of morning trade.
At midday, the CSI300 of the leading Shanghai and Shenzhen listings
was up 0.2 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index inched up 0.1
percent. They have climbed more than 5 and 4 percent, respectively,
since May 15.
"We could be primed for a rotation from the outperforming sectors such
as the small- and mid-cap stocks into relative underperformers," said
Zhang Qi, a Shanghai-based analyst with Haitong Securities.
"But any more gains in the short term will depend a lot on money supply
conditions and also the resumption of the IPO approvals, which people
expect in the third quarter," Zhang added.
The official China Securities Journal also reported on Wednesday that
Xiao Gang, the country's top securities regulator, said his agency will
focus on its key duties of regulating the market and delegate
unnecessary duties to other departments gradually.
On Wednesday, Guangzhou Auto Group surged the maximum allowed 10 percent in Shanghai after the China Passenger Car
Association said sales in May could increase 14 percent from a year earlier, maintaining a blistering start to the year.
Chinese property-related counters, such as developers and cement producers, were again strong ahead of a national
urbanisation strategy meeting which the 21st Century Business Herald reported on Tuesday will likely be held by early June.
China Vanke gained 1.9 percent to stretch gains on the year to 21.1 percent, compared to the 3.8 percent gain for the
CSI300. Anhui Conch Cement rose 1.8 percent in Shanghai.
Citic Securities inched up 0.4 percent after China's largest listed brokerage said late on Tuesday that plans to spend up to 2
billion yuan ($325.97 million) to acquire a 10 percent stake in China Asset Management, the country's top fund management
company.