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(Sharecast News) - Chinese-focused stocks paced gains on the FTSE-350 at the end of the week with investors continuing to push them higher on the back of better news-flow on that economy.
That was despite the skepticism of some strategists regarding the staying power of any rally.
Thus, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2.5% overnight, ahead of the reopening of Chinese markets during the following week following the Lunar New Year holidays.
Official reports indicated that over 61m rail trips were made during the first six days of the holidays, for a 61% surge on a year ago.
Nevertheless, the year-on-year comparisons were distorted by the Covid-19 outbreaks in early 2023, when Beijing lifted restrictions on movements.
Separately, Reuters reported that Beijing had moved to kickstart construction activity through the whitelisting of 8,2000 projects by local authorities.
Lenders' shares also fared well with those of NatWest Group spearheading gains on the back of its full-year numbers.
NatWest posted a 20% increase in operating profit for 2023, surpassing analysts' estimates.
The appointment of Paul Thwaite as chief executive on a permanent basis further fueled investor confidence, propelling the shares back to their late 2023 levels.
A further plus for the sector was the back-up in government bond yields following the release of a stronger-than-expected reading for U.S. producer prices in January.
Top performing sectors so far today
Industrial Engineering 14,252.60 +2.89%
Industrial Metals & Mining 6,186.19 +2.86%
Industrial Transportation 3,927.33 +2.54%
Banks 3,593.75 +2.50%
Electronic & Electrical Equipment 9,964.03 +2.42%
Bottom performing sectors so far today
Telecommunications Service Providers 1,737.58 -0.88%
Leisure Goods 23,765.74 -0.23%
Food Producers 7,145.55 -0.18%
Investment Banking and Brokerage Services 13,960.61 -0.13%
Tobacco 27,353.01 -0.09%
