Chinese shares held firm above key levels on Friday, with the Shenzhen Component Index and the ChiNext Index closing higher despite lingering Middle East tensions, reported Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN).
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.1 percent to 4,051.43 points. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.6 percent higher at 14,885.42 points, while the ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq‑style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.43 percent to 3,678.29.
"Despite the release of the big-ticket economic data this week, the Middle East conflict is still the thing is moving markets the most unsurprisingly. But hopes of fresh peace talks which have emerged this week have really countered the 'everyone blockade the Strait of Hormuz' theme, which started the week. The Shanghai Composite Index was fractionally lower today, but it regained the key 4000-point level on Thursday and is still sitting above that mark now. The Shenzhen Composite Index too regained highs not seen since early 2022 - it's nearing 15,000 points as of today's close," Pope said.
"The stronger than expected GDP figures did also play a part in those gains. And what I think is really important to remember is that the 5 percent real GDP growth was managed without China being in a housing boom, so it does indicate that the shift to a more quality-driven growth model is underway. And as far as individual stocks go, we had some fairly strong performances as well. CATL continued its run of gains today, the big battery maker, that was after some very strong financial results released on Tuesday. Q1 revenue was up more than 52 percent and net profit up 48 percent to more than 20 billion yuan (about 2.9 billion U.S. dollars), that was ahead of analyst expectations," he said.
Chinese shares hold firm above key levels despite Middle East tensions
