Just a few weeks ago, many investors in China’s stock markets were ready to give up and were eager to sell. Late last month, traders rushed to place bullish bets after government leaders announced a series of steps to stimulate China’s flagging economy.
On Tuesday, after a week-long national holiday, trading resumed in mainland China and investors picked up where they left off. The CSI 300, an index of large companies traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen, rose almost 6 percent. It was the tenth straight day of increases, with a rise of almost 35 percent during the period.
Before the holidays, the Chinese government had boosted stock markets with a package of measures aimed at halting the cycle of falling real estate prices and weakening consumer confidence.
The central bank and other leading financial institutions announced on September 24 that they were cutting interest rates, lowering minimum down payments on mortgages and encouraging banks to lend more money so investors could buy shares.
Two days later, the ruling Politburo made an unusually blunt call for more to be done to help the economy. Several municipal governments soon followed suit by relaxing or dismantling their restrictions on real estate purchases as a way to stabilize the housing market in their cities.