Home prices in China's "first-tier" cities continue upward trend in January

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠China's "first-tier" cities reported growth in home prices in January, reflecting steady demand in key urban areas.

Home prices in China's "first-tier" cities, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, maintained a upward momentum from January, with both new and second-hand homes showing a 0.1 percent increase compared to the previous month, according to a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China on Wednesday.

In detail, new home prices in Shanghai and Shenzhen rose by 0.6 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, while Beijing saw a slight decline of 0.1 percent. Guangzhou's home prices remained flat. As for second-hand homes, Beijing's prices edged up by 0.1 percent, while Shanghai and Shenzhen saw increases of 0.4 percent. In contrast, Guangzhou experienced a 0.2 percent drop.

Meanwhile, second-tier cities, which include most of the capital cities of provinces and other cities with strong economic performance, experienced mixed results in January. New home prices increased by 0.1 percent on a monthly basis, marking the first rise since June 2023, while second-hand home prices fell by 0.3 percent.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 52.27 points, or 0.10 percent, to 50,188.14. The S and P 500 sank 23.01 points, or 0.33 percent, to 6,941.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 136.196 points, or 0.59 percent, to 23,102.474.

Six of the 11 primary S and P 500 sectors ended in red, with communication services and financials leading the laggards by going down 0.84 percent and 0.75 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, utilities and real estate led the gainers by rising 1.59 percent and 1.39 percent, respectively.