China stocks jump in Asia on September 2

advance4 September 2, 2010 (Chinavestor) A shift in investor sentiment helped China stocks to jump in Asia on Thursday after better-than-expected manufacturing data sent the DJIA soaring the day before. U.S. investors snapped up financial assets, changing market sentiment for every sector. Chinese stocks advanced in both major Asian markets; the Hang Seng Index (INDEXHANGSENG:.HSI) jumped 245.1 points or 1.2 percent to 20,868.92 while the Shanghai Composite Index (SHA:000001) advanced 32.9 points or 1.2 percent to 2,655.78. The rally was universal in Hong Kong: each and every component but one of the 42 member Hang Seng Index (INDEXHANGSENG:.HSI) advanced on Thursday. Investors in Shanghai were similarly bullish; stocks that advanced outnumbered those that fell ten to one.

Airliners, resource stocks led the rally in Hong Kong as investors went bargain hunting following last week's wide sell-off. China Eastern Airlines (HKG:0670) (NYSE:CEA) jumped 5.5 percent followed by Air China's (HKG:0753) 4.3 percent advance. China Southern Airlines (HKG:1055) (NYSE:ZNH), Asia's largest carrier by fleet size, rose 2.4 percent. Maanshan Iron (HKG:0323) and Angang Steel (HKG:0347) jumped over 4 percent, each. China Unicom (HKG:0762) (NYSE:CHU), the second largest Chinese mobile carrier, rose 3.9 percent but China Mobile (HKG:0941) (NYSE:CHL), the industry leader, eked out just a small 0.7 percent gain.

Auto and resource stocks led the advance in Shanghai. SAIC Motor (SHA:600104), the largest Chinese auto maker, jumped 8.9 percent as investors turned bullish on the sector. Western Mining (SHA:601168) rose 3.3 percent followed by Aluminum Corp. of China (SHA:601600) (NYSE:ACH) and Jiangxi Copper (SHA:600362). Ping An Insurance (SHA:601318), the second largest Chinese insurance company, jumped 4.5 percent after clearing a key regulatory approval to consolidate its Shenzhen Development Bank investment.

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Energy stocks advanced in Asia as well on the back of rising crude prices. China Shenhua (HKG:1088), the largest Chinese coal miner, rose 3.1 percent followed closely by Yanzhou Caol (HKG:1171) (NYSE:YZC). Petrochina (HKG:0857) (NYSE:PTR), China's largest oil producer, rose 1.1 percent followed by Sinopec (HKG:0386) (NYSE:SNP) and CNOOC Ltd. (HKG:0883)(NYSE:CEO).

If the Hang Seng index (INDEXHANGSENG:.HSI) can serve as a proxy for Chinese ADRs, Thursday outlook is bright for China Eastern Airlines (NYSE:CEA) and China Southern Airlines (NYSE:ZNH), but China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) is going to be subdued. Yanzhou Coal (NYSE:YZC) and China Unicom (NYSE:CHU) are looking good but Huaneng Power (NYSE:HNP) lost steam in Asia.

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