Chinese Stocks Rebound as Ministry Hints at More Fiscal Support

(Bloomberg) — Chinese stocks climbed in early trading on Monday after the finance ministry over the weekend promised new measures to support the property sector and hinted at greater government borrowing to shore up the economy.

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The CSI 300 Index rose as much as 1.4% after capping its worst week since late July on Friday. A gauge of Chinese shares listed in Hong Kong reversed an early loss of 1.1%.

The early reaction suggests that traders may be counting on more details to emerge on the nation’s fiscal plans in the coming days. Some investors as well as economists had expressed disappointment over the outcome of the highly anticipated briefing on Saturday, where Finance Minister Lan Fo’an refrained from giving a headline dollar figure for fresh fiscal stimulus — something the markets had hoped for.

The commitment to “fiscal deficit expansion should help stabilize market sentiment in the near term after the huge volatility we have observed since late September,” Morgan Stanley strategist Laura Wang wrote in a note.

Local governments will be allowed to use special bonds to buy unsold homes, Lan and his deputies said at the briefing, without giving an amount. Lan hinted at room for issuing more sovereign bonds and vowed to relieve the debt burden of local governments, signaling a possible rare revision to the budget that could come in the next few weeks.

Prior to the weekend, investors and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected China to deploy as much as 2 trillion yuan ($283 billion) in fresh fiscal stimulus on Saturday, including potential subsidies, consumption vouchers and financial support for families with children.

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