CHINA’S stocks yesterday had their best day in four months, jumping more than 4 percent, as investors piled into real estate and resources shares, encouraged by tentative signs of recovery in the property market.

    Investors shrugged off news that rating agency Moody’s cut its China outlook to “negative” from “stable,” as the market awaits policy cues from China’s annual meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the nation’s top legislature, which starts Saturday.

    The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 4.12 percent to 3,051.33, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 4.26 percent, to 2,849.68 points.

    Stocks rose across the board, with an index tracking developers surging 5.6 percent, amid media reports of a more sure-footed recovery in the market for homes in China’s first and second-tier cities following a slew of supportive measures. Resources stocks were up 6 percent.

    Pressure is building on the government to follow up on Monday’s cut in lenders’ reserve requirement ratios with more stimulus after data this week showed a deterioration in manufacturing.

    The economic slowdown has been a trigger for the Shanghai Composite’s 23 percent slump this year through Tuesday, the worst performance among 93 global equity indices.

    “There are policy expectations from the coming NPC meetings, such as growth-stabilizing measures, so the market shows signs of consolidating at this level,” said Wang Zheng, the Shanghai-based chief investment officer at Jingxi Investment.

    “The market is basically ignoring the Moody’s news. China’s capital markets are still quite isolated and heavily regulated, so such news isn’t likely to cause massive outflow,” Wang said. (SD-Agencies)