Chinese stocks surged for two straight trading days amid suspected government buying, but plunges Monday and Tuesday left the market down nearly 8% for the week.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index spiked 561.88 points, or 3%, to close the week at 19,136.32
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index faded 226.15 points, or 1%, to 21,612.39, dragged down by Chinese firms on the market, as international investors remained wary of China’s slowing growth.
Elsewhere, most shares in the region rose Friday for a second straight day, buoyed by positive U.S. economic data. A strong reading of U.S. gross domestic product, which expanded 3.7% in the second quarter, up from an initial estimate of 2.3% growth, renewed optimism that the world’s biggest economy could anchor global growth.
CHINA
In China, the CSI 300 gained 136.65 points, or 4.3%, to 3,342.29
China’s domestic market became the epicenter of a global selloff, with a five-session crash starting last Thursday triggering steep losses in U.S. and European stocks. Rumors of Beijing’s hand in the market reversed the selling by Thursday, which helped support global shares prices, commodities, and currencies of emerging markets that had been battered.
To quiet worries about its slowing growth, Beijing took several easing measures this week to get its economy back in gear, including an interest-rate cut and liquidity injections. The move follows a decision earlier this month to devalue the yuan, which could make exports more competitive, as China struggles to meet its growth target of about 7% for the year.
While Beijing’s measures helped lift global markets, it wasn’t until Thursday that suspicions of government intervention drove the Shanghai Composite up more than 5%.
The momentum then extended into Friday with government appearing to buy again—Shanghai closed up 4.8% at 3,232.35.
Some even suspected that officials wanted to give investors something to cheer ahead of a parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of World War II next week. China’s markets will be closed Sept 3-4 for a national holiday.
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi index gained 29.67 points, or 1.6%, to 1,937.67
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index gathered 10.51 points, or 0.4%, to 2,955.94
In Taiwan, the Taiex index added 194.63 points, or 2.5%, to 8,019.18
The NZX 50 moved higher 35.54 points, or 0.6%, to 5,670.48
The ASX 200 Index hiked 30.24 points, or 0.6%, to 5,263.56
