China is distorting its stockmarket by trying to prop it up
State purchases of shares are bad enough, but other measures are far more destructive
Investors in China’s stockmarket have been doing handsomely this year. The Shanghai composite index has risen by 12% from a multi-year low in February, notwithstanding a recent drop. Equity analysts and state media alike are cheering. For Xi Jinping, China’s leader, the rally was a relief, since retail investors own at least 80% of the market. A previous rout hurt them badly, adding to anxieties about the country’s future. To many, the recovery reflected good governance and fortune.
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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “In the stocks”
Finance & economics June 15th 2024
- Donald Trump’s trade hawk is plotting behind bars
- Rumours of the trade deal’s death are greatly exaggerated
- China is distorting its stockmarket by trying to prop it up
- The cracks in America’s ultra-strong labour market
- China’s currency is not as influential as once imagined
- Has private credit’s golden age already ended?
- Does motherhood hurt women’s pay?
From the June 15th 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
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The great-man theory of Wall Street
Why finance is still dominated by bold individuals
Hong Kong’s property slump may be terminal
Demographics and geopolitics will make a recovery harder
Why everyone wants to lend to weak companies
An unanticipated side-effect of Donald Trump’s election victory
American veterans now receive absurdly generous benefits
An enormous rise in disability payments may complicate debt-reduction efforts
Why Black Friday sales grow more annoying every year
Nobody is to blame. Everyone suffers
Trump wastes no time in reigniting trade wars
Canada and Mexico look likely to suffer
