Chinese equities rebound higher; investors ignore slowing factory growth

* SSEC + 1.21%, CSI300 + 1.54%

* Follows> 5% drop last week, largest weekly drop in a year

* Factory activity growth slows in February

SHANGHAI, March 1 (Reuters) – Chinese stocks ended higher on Monday, rebounding from their biggest weekly loss in a year as investors bought sell-bruised stocks, even as China’s growth slowed. factory activity showed the fragility of the economic recovery in China.

** The Shanghai Composite Index ended up 1.21% at 3,551.40. It fell 5.06% last week, its biggest weekly percentage drop since February 2020. ** Blue-chip CSI300 index rose 1.54%, with consumer staples sector rising by 1.49% and the health sub-index by 1.32%. ** UBS analysts said the downside risks to the market are “manageable” after last week’s drop. ** “We expect market volatility to intensify in the near term. It may take some time for investors to reassess the normalization of domestic policy, a global economic recovery and a hike in global rates, ”they said in a note. ** Chinese factory activity grew at the slowest pace in nine months in February, as weak overseas demand and coronavirus outbreaks weighed on production, a business survey showed on Monday. ** The shares were supported by purchases from foreign investors. Flows through the northern branch of Stock Connect topped 6.5 billion yuan ($ 1.01 billion), according to data from Refinitiv. ** New home price growth in China slowed slightly in February as demand slowed in the Lunar New Year and some major cities further dampened speculative buying. ** The real estate index rose 0.98% as analysts expect home price growth to maintain a steady upward trend. ** The rare earth index jumped 6.64% after China’s Minister of Industry said on Monday that China’s rare earths were undervalued due to fierce competition. ** The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 2.38% and the startup board’s ChiNext Composite index rose 2.767%. ** At 0708 GMT, the yuan was traded at 6.464 to the US dollar, 0.06% stronger than the previous close of 6.4681.