DOMESTIC media yesterday projected confidence in the country’s stock markets in the face of a rout the previous day that was triggered by trade war fears, while over 30 listed firms announced share purchase plans by major shareholders in a bid to stop the bleeding. Shanghai stocks tumbled 3.8 percent Tuesday to a two-year low as the United States’ new tariff threats against China raised the specter of a full-blown trade war. The slide triggered fresh margin calls in a highly-leveraged stock market, potentially causing a downward spiral. In a front-page article, Shanghai Securities News said favorable factors that should support stocks had not changed, namely a steadily improving macroeconomic situation, reasonable and stable liquidity conditions and a sound basic mechanism of market operations. “A heavy decline reflects the market’s pessimism in the short term, but after an emotional release, investors should rationally view the market’s ups and downs and objectively understand the short-term and long-term factors that affect the market’s operation,” it said. China Securities Journal, also on its front page, highlighted China’s fundamentals, saying the economy was fully resilient. It quoted analysts as saying valuations of yuan-denominated A shares were at historic lows. “At present, the opportunity is greater than the risk. After the market bottoms out, it will return to a track that is dictated by fundamentals,” it said. The joint effort by the country’s major financial newspapers to soothe jittery investors came after the central bank Tuesday night said Yi Gang, governor of the People’s Bank of China, had urged investors to remain calm, noting that ups and downs were normal in stock markets. “There are ups and downs in the stock market and so, investors should be calm and rational,” Yi said. “China is in good position to cope with all kinds of trade frictions.” Dozens of companies, including Kuangda Technologies and Inner Mongolia Xingye Mining, announced plans by shareholders after Tuesday’s market close to buy shares in the coming months. Meanwhile, companies including Zhengzhou Sino-Crystal Diamond, Meson Fintech and Guilin Tourism said late Tuesday that some of the companies’ shares pledged by major shareholders face the risk of forced liquidation. (SD-Agencies) |