Chinese stocks rise after gov’t vows more tax cuts, investment

BEIJING, March 6 .  Chinese shares climbed Tuesday after the government vowed to cut taxes and expand infrastructure investment to support the economy.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened lower, but edged higher to end 0.88 percent higher at 3,054.25. The Shenzhen Component Index climbed 2.25 percent to 9,595.74.

Combined trading volume of the two indexes totaled 896.6 billion yuan (about 133.82 billion U.S. dollars), shrinking from 1.05 trillion yuan the previous trading day.
Most stocks gained, with gainers outnumbering losers by 1,229 to 191 on the Shanghai bourse and 1,932 to 166 on the Shenzhen bourse.

The rebound came after the government vowed to reduce tax burdens and social insurance contributions of enterprises by nearly 2 trillion yuan this year.

The government will expand effective investment, accelerating the implementation of a number of key projects, according to a government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang Tuesday morning at the opening meeting of the annual legislative session.

Some 800 billion yuan will be invested in railway construction, as well as 1.8 trillion yuan in road construction and waterway projects this year, Li said. The ChiNext Index, China’s NASDAQ-style board, surged 3.51 percent to close at 1,676.57.

IT and computer-related sectors led the gains, with the sub-index for IT services surged 6.88 percent and that for computer and relevant equipment manufacturing up 5.93 percent.

The banking sector, however, inched lower. Shares of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 0.68 percent to 5.82 yuan. Agricultural Bank of China was down 0.78 percent to 3.84 yuan per share. Enditem