China’s stock market hits two-month high

The Shanghai Composite Index reached its highest level since August

<em>Shanghai Stock Exchange</em>
Shanghai Stock Exchange

China’s stocks hit a two-month high on Monday, following six rounds of interest rate cuts this year and just as the Communist Party kicks off its fifth plenary session.

The Shanghai Composite Index reached its highest level since August, closing at 3,429.58 on Monday, Bloomberg reported.  The .5 percent increase follows the government’s concerted effort to curb the market’s fall since July, which has included a string of interest rate cuts aimed at boosting lending, as well as reigning in short selling and futures trading.

The People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, on Friday also cut its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points and its reserve-requirement ratios for lenders by 50 basis points, the website reported.

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The uptick is a welcomed, if only slight, reprieve from the market’s plunge in July, when China devalued its currency by 1.9 percent against the dollar. It remains to be seen how China’s market woes will impact New York City real estate — often viewed as an investment safe haven — in the longterm.

At the plenum — the fifth of seven sessions held by the Communist Party’s Central Committee — leaders are expected to plan out various measures for the next five years, including breaking up currency controls and paving the way for non-bank foreign financial firms, the website reported. [Bloomberg]Kathryn Brenzel