Stock market today: Markets rally again as China ramps up support for its economy

[September 26, 2024]  By ELAINE KURTENBACH

World shares surged Thursday following reports that China plans to spend billions of dollars to help rebuild the capital of state-run banks and provide other fiscal support for the economy.

The slowdown in China’s economy has weighed on trade and global growth, and blasts of stimulus from Beijing have lifted markets this week.

Germany's DAX gained 1.3% to 19,162.92 and the CAC 40 in Paris was up 1.7% at 7,696.21. In London, the FTSE 100 rose 0.5% to 8,310.73.

U.S. futures also shot higher, with the contract for the S&P 500 up 0.8% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.5%.

Bloomberg and other reports cited unnamed sources as saying that the Chinese government would spend 1 trillion yuan ($142 billion) on capital injections for lenders. Earlier this week, Li Yunze, head of the National Financial Regulatory Commission, told reporters in Beijing that regulators would increase capital at six large banks, but he gave no dollar amount.

Banks interest margins and profits have shrunk, so “It is necessary to coordinate various channels such as internal and external channels to replenish capital,” Li said at a news conference that showcased a raft of policies aimed at countering a prolonged downturn in the property sector.

The government announced “living allowance,” or cash handouts, for the poor ahead of next week's National Day holidays. While subsidies to ordinary people are uncommon, the ruling Communist Party sometimes marks special occasions with payments to families in difficulty.

The amount of the payments was not given. But they might help address a weak point for the economy — faltering consumer spending.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 4.2% to 19,924.58, and the Shanghai Composite index surged 3.6% to 3,000.95.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo advanced 2.8% to 38,925.63.

People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

South Korea's Kospi jumped 2.9%, to 2,671.57 after semiconductor maker SK Hynix launched production of a new memory chip for artificial intelligence. SK Hynix shares jumped 9.4%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 picked up 1% to 8,203.70.

“Asian stocks shrugged off Wall Street’s stumble and surged ahead on Thursday, riding high on renewed optimism over China’s stimulus push. It seems like China hasn’t run out of kitchen sinks just yet,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% to 5,722.26, a day after setting an all-time high for the 41st time this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.7% to 41,914.75 after likewise setting a record the day before. The Nasdaq composite edged up by less than 0.1%, to 18,082.21.

The next date on the calendar circled for a potentially big market move is next week's monthly update on the U.S. job market.

Investors are concerned over slowing hiring now that inflation has eased significantly from its peak two summers ago. The number of layoffs remains relatively low, but U.S. employers are also more hesitant to hire.

The Fed kept its main interest rate at a two-decade high for more than a year in hopes of slowing the U.S. economy enough to stifle inflation. Last week, it swung toward protecting the job market by cutting the federal funds rate by a larger-than-usual half of a percentage point. Critics say it may be moving too late.

In other dealings early Thursday, benchmark U.S. crude oil shed $1.65 to $68.04 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up $1.61 to $71.29 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 144.78 Japanese yen from 144.76 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1141, up from $1.1133.

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