China Stocks end edge higher

Mainland China equity market closed higher on Friday, 17 April 2020, with sentiment improving on the fight against the coronavirus after a report said that a Gilead Sciences drug, remdesivir, showed promising results in treating COVID-19 patients. Investors shrugged off grim China first-quarter data that showed the coronavirus-hit economy contracted for the first time on record. At closing bell, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.66%, or 18.56 points, to 2,838.49. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, increased by 0.34%, or 5.89 points, to 1,750.28. The blue-chip CSI300 index surged 1%, or 37.11 points, to 3,839.49.

Trading spirits were lifted by hope the coronavirus will be defeated soon. Overnight, it was reported that a group of coronavirus patients being treated with the trial drug remdesivir developed by US-listed Gilead Sciences were seeing rapid recoveries in fever and respiratory symptoms,

The market largely shrugged off mixed set of data points on China's economy. China's National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday that the country's economic output shrank 6.8% from January through March compared to the same period last year. Industrial production dropped 8.4% in the first quarter, and marked a 1.1% decline in March. Fixed-asset investment fell 16.1% in the first quarter. Retail sales fell 19% in the first quarter. Sales of consumer goods fell 15.8% in March, while online sales of physical goods rose 5.9%.

The International Monetary Fund says the world is in its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression due to the respiratory illness. Half of the world's population is under lockdown, and the virus has infected 2.1 million people and killed nearly 145,000.

CURRENCY NEWS: China's yuan was little changed against the dollar on Friday, despite China central bank fixed softer mid-point rate. Prior to market opening, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate CNY=PBOC at 7.0718 per dollar, only 4 pips weaker than the previous fix of 7.0714.

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