China stocks recouped earlier losses to rise by midday on Wednesday, aided by a bounce in real estate and consumer firms. At 04:04 GMT, the Shanghai Composite index was up 5.98 points or 0.17 per cent at 3,493.99.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.68 per cent, with its financial sector sub-index higher by 1.32 per cent, the consumer staples sector up 2.42 per cent, the real estate index up 3.25 per cent and healthcare sub-index up 0.58 per cent.
Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong rose 0.63 per cent to 13,473.62, while the Hang Seng Index was up 0.42 per cent at 32,745.19. The smaller Shenzhen index was down 0.8 per cent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was weaker by 1.57 per cent.
Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.46 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei index was up 0.34 per cent. The yuan was quoted at 6.3279 per US dollar, 0.05 per cent weaker than the previous close of 6.325.
The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Maoye Commercial Co Ltd up 10.03 per cent, followed by Guanghui Logistics Co Ltd gaining 9.94 per cent and Beijing Vantone Real Estate Co Ltd up by 9.91 per cent.
The largest percentage losses in the Shanghai index were Datang Telecom Technology Co Ltd down 10.01 per cent, followed by Qingdao Tianhua Institute of Chemistry Engineering Co Ltd losing 10.01 per cent and Tibet Tourism Co Ltd down by 9.99 per cent.
So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is up 5.47 per cent, while China’s H-share index is up 14.3 per cent. Shanghai stocks have risen 5.47 per cent this month.
Top gainers among H-shares were China Life Insurance Co Ltd up 2.92 per cent, followed by China Pacific Insurance Group Co Ltd gaining 2.56 per cent and Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric Co Ltd up by 2.45 per cent.
The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were Huaneng Power International Inc which has fallen 2.32 per cent, PetroChina Co Ltd which has lost 1.4 per cent and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd down by 1.2 per cent.
About 11.61 billion shares have traded so far on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 59.2 per cent of the market's 30-day moving average of 19.60 billion shares a day. The volume traded was 18.64 billion as of the last full trading day.
As of 04:04 GMT, China’s A-shares were trading at a premium of 28.23 per cent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. The Shanghai stock index is above its 50-day moving average and above its 200-day moving average.
The price-to-earnings ratio of the Shanghai index was 15.86 as of the last full trading day while the dividend yield was 1.8 per cent. So far this week, the market capitalisation of the Shanghai stock index has fallen by -2.04 per cent to 30.68 trillion yuan.
In Hong Kong, the sub-index of the Hang Seng index tracking energy shares dipped 1.1 per cent, while the IT sector rose 0.9 per cent. The top gainer on Hang Seng was WH Group Ltd up 5.38 per cent, while the biggest loser was China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd which was down 1.62 per cent.