Mainland stock markets closed on opposite sides of the break-even point Friday as investors awaited the release of a round of September economic indicators, including trade numbers and China's official Consumer Price Index (CPI), underscoring the uncertainty surrounding the health of the domestic economy.
The Shanghai Composite Index finished trading at 2,104.93 points Friday, up 2.06 points, or 0.10 percent; while the Shenzhen Component Index closed last week at 8,650.19 points after slumping 14.90 points, or 0.17 percent, on the day.
Both markets began last week on a down note after an eight-day hiatus for the National Day and Mid Autumn Festival holidays due to falling gold, securities, transportation equipment and water supply stocks. Mainland equities rebounded Tuesday as strong expectations that the central government would soon take further action to help the weakening market countered a downgraded economic growth outlook for East Asia from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The gains continued into Wednesday in large part thanks to strong performances in geothermal energy and steel stocks. Rising pessimism surrounding the global and domestic economies reeled A-shares back into negative territory by the end of trading Thursday.
In a mixed day for mainland equities, the entertainment and cultural sectors were lifted hugely Friday by news that Chinese writer Mo Yan had been awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature. Shanghai Xinhua Media Co climbed by the daily limit to end 6.23 yuan. Changjiang Publishing & Media Co advanced 6.44 percent to 7.44 yuan.
Media, chemical, banking, securities and coal stocks also largely advanced Friday; while the tourism, gold, environmental protection, computer technology and 3D printing sectors experienced some of the day's biggest losses.
Gui Haoming, chief analyst at Shenyin & Wanguo Securities, told the China Business News Saturday that although recent government-backed moves have lifted the Shanghai Composite above the 2,000 point mark, the odds of major rally in the coming week are scant given the lack of policy measures on the immediate horizon.
