Main reference: Story in Sinafinance
CHINA MARKETS will awaken from their nine-day slumber and begin trading next week for the first time in The Year of the Snake.
Despite a dismal 2012 which most investors were prepared to write off as a lost year, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has surged some 25% since early December.
So with the turbulence of late 2012 now seemingly blown over, a sustained climb witnessed so far in 2013, and bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen closed from February 9-17, here are eight expert takes on where things might be headed.
Chart: Yahoo Finance
Gushang Wealth Management said it’s time to change MOs, at least as far as investors are concerned.
The precipitous rise in the Shanghai Composite for a virtual two-month span of continuous increases only means that there is a large body of investors waiting anxiously for the first sign of pandemonium to dump their holdings with reckless abandon.
Nevertheless, it recommends avoiding herd mentality and sticking to traditional individual value assessment for each major counter or sector.
Soochow Securities said it is upbeat on prospects for China shares post-Chinese New Year.
The East China-based brokerage said it was feeling particularly bullish on environmental-based theme shares.
EastMoney Investment Consulting said there were two important considerations to keep in mind once the fireworks cacophony had abated and 1.3 billion Chinese went back to their workaday lives on February 18.
The year-to-date nadir of 1,949 points for the Shanghai Composite reached late last year was a half auspicious, half patriotic recovery point (given the year of the PRC’s founding).
The brokerage points to military, gold and pharmaceutical themed A-share plays as the best hopes for money-making opportunities in 2013.
It also said that China’s upcoming major legislative gathering this Spring could very well give a boost to both political – and financial – confidence, depending on the resolutions reached.
Stocks Online is more conservative.
It contends that the 25% rise in China’s benchmark index over the past two months is unsustainable, and sustained bullishness is inadvisable.
Xiangcai Securities said it was taking a realistic look at The Year of the Snake.
Given the late-Dragon rally, it was urging clients to wait for a significant retraction from the current bull run to justify a jumping-in point.
Chongqing Dongjin Management said it expects the winter rally among A-shares to continue into the Year of the Snake.
It believes China’s trade balance and mix will help inspire confidence in A-shares going forward.
Qiankun Investment believes the current mini-bull run is reaching its resting point, but there is no reason it cannot retread following a natural correction.
GF Securities said it expects China shares to continue their upward trend following the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday.
Nevertheless, it said investors should be willing to withstand some minor corrections this Spring as the market comes to terms with the ongoing upward climb for long-lambasted A-shares.
See also:
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Top HK Gainers & Losers In January
SGX Stocks To Reap Harvest From China’s Agri Support
