Foreign capital inflows spur recovery, help bolster stock market sentiment

Equities staged a recovery on the mainland bourses on Tuesday as strong foreign capital inflows helped dispel lingering uncertainties from the novel coronavirus outbreak and reassured investors about market prospects, analysts said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose by 1.34 percent to 2783.29 points, with turnover rising to 374 billion yuan ($53 billion), the highest in nearly 10 months.

The Shenzhen Component Index rose by 3.17 percent to close at 10,089.67 points, while the ChiNext Index, which tracks Shenzhen's innovation startups, jumped by 4.84 percent, or 86.92 points, to close at 1882.69 points.

Sectors related to remote work and education, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals, and new energy vehicles led the rise on Tuesday, while tourism and transportation-related companies saw the biggest losses.

Analysts said the central bank's accommodative stance also helped boost investor sentiment. The People's Bank of China injected 500 billion yuan of funds on Tuesday to ensure ample liquidity, after a 1.2-trillion-yuan injection on Monday.

Tuesday's bullish mood was in sharp contrast to the sell-off on Monday, the first trading day after the extended Lunar New Year holiday. The three major indexes all slumped by more than 6.8 percent on Monday as investors factored in the coronavirus spread over the 10-day-long market closure.

Hu Yunlong, investment director of Beijing-based Kaixing Asset Management, said the market became more rational and started to bottom out on Tuesday, after pricing in epidemic-related developments in the previous session.

Equities may fluctuate for the next two or three weeks due to the virus uncertainties, but would nevertheless create buying opportunities as the uptrend is expected to continue when the epidemic fades, Hu said.

"As a short-term shock, the virus outbreak should not sway the positive market outlook over the next 18 months, which is underpinned by the country's push for technology upgrade and capital market reforms," Hu said.

Li Yang, chairman of the National Institution for Finance& Development, said the foreign capital inflows appear to suggest that the coronavirus-related disruptions may be short-lived.

Net foreign inflows via stock connects between the mainland and Hong Kong bourses saw the second-highest turnover of 18.2 billion yuan on Monday, followed by Tuesday's 4.9 billion yuan net inflows, according to market tracker Wind Info.

The A-share market was one of the most-sought-after global stock markets for investment last year, a trend that remains intact despite the virus outbreak, Li told China Central Television.

"Given the overall impact (of the epidemic) should be short-term, bottom fishing on oversold quality names makes sense," said Lynda Zhou, chief investment officer for equities in China at Fidelity International.

Zhou said companies in the online gaming, video and education sectors may outperform the market amid the fight against the virus, while in the medium term smart manufacturing will also benefit.