Foreign Markets

Mainland China share market finished session higher on Thursday, 30 June 2022, as investors chased for bargain buying after official gauges of factory and services activity returned to expansion in June following three months of contraction.

A monthly purchasing managers' index released Thursday by the Chinese statistics agency and an industry group rose to 50.2 in June from 49.6 on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 indicate activity is increasing.

At close of trade, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.1%, or 37.10 points, to 3,398.62. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, added 1.35%, or 29.64 points, to 2,224.15. The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 1.44%, or 63.65 points, to 4,485.01.

ECONOMIC NEWS: The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 50.2 in June from 49.6 in May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. The official non-manufacturing PMI in June improved to 54.7 from 47.8 in May. China's official composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and services activity, stood at 54.1, compared with 48.4 in May.

CURRENCY NEWS: China's yuan firmed up against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday despite weaker mid-point fixing by central bank, as the manufacturing and service sectors returned to growth after coronavirus curbs were eased. Prior to market opening, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate CNY=PBOC at 6.7114 per dollar, 0.12% weaker than the previous fixing of 6.7035. In the spot market, onshore yuan CNY=CFXS was changing hands around 6.6960 at midday, 40 pips stronger than the previous late session close.

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