Index futures' gains signal improved market sentiment
Write:
Ogden [2011-05-20]
Gains in China's stock index futures may be a signal market sentiment has started to improve as investors' fears about further credit-tightening ease, Monday's China Daily quoted analysts as saying.
"The rise in the index futures indicates an improved market sentiment over the long run as investor's concerns of further policy tightening may have eased," the newspaper quoted Yang Cui, an analyst at Changjiang Securities, as saying.
The June contract, the most actively traded, gained 1.44 percent last Friday to close at 2,801 points, the paper said, adding that the settlement of the May contract was smooth and without sharp declines or volatility in the spot market.
Market watchers remain bullish on Chinese equities in the medium to long term, despite the recent tumble in the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index that was triggered by stern government measures to cool the property market.
"We are medium-term bullish about the A-share market for the next six to nine months," said Jan G. Loeys, chief strategist at JP Morgan. He is positive about emerging Asian shares, in spite of the policy tightening in China that created nervousness.
About 20,000 investors have participated in index futures trade and daily turnover is 8.1 billion yuan, according to the China Financial Futures Exchange.