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Investors rally to bullish market
By Wang Bo (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-03 07:55

Investors rally to bullish market
Individual investors are eager to capitalize on a bullish market after the Shanghai benchmark index reached 3,000 points this summer. [Asianewsphoto]

As China's stock market rallies from last year's trough, individual investors are eager to capitalize on the market rebound.

From a recent surge in fund sales to the continuing increases in newly opened stock-trading accounts, investors are citing signs of an upward trend.

"It does not make much sense to worry about whether the current rally is a mirage or for real. What's more important is trying to profit from the rebound," said Wang Ping, a veteran individual investor in Beijing.

Last year, Wang said two-thirds of his stock value evaporated with the falling economy, but he has since made up most of his losses, he said.

Wang's positive attitude is common among individual investors eager to ride this year's more bullish market.

That positive attitude was buoyed by news that China reported a 7.9 percent economic growth rate in the second quarter of this year, outperforming most of the world's major economies.

3,000 points

Frank Gong, an equity market researcher and head of the China research division for JP Morgan Chase, predicted recently that reaching 3,000 points is just the beginning of China's bull market.

China's stock market has been rebounding since touching bottom last October.

This July, the Shanghai benchmark index rose to more than 3,000 points without many fluctuations.

Thus, individual investors have become more active in recent months.

China Securities Depository and Clearing Corp reported that 1.63 million new stock-trading accounts were opened in June, up from 1.08 million in May and up from less than 1 million a year earlier.

Zhou Junchen, a stockbroker at a mid-sized domestic brokerage, said the number of investors who come to her for new stock accounts has steadily increased in recent month.

"I had almost no business at all at the end of last year, and now I receive some 10 clients a day," Zhou said.

"Although it cannot compare with the situation during the bullish market in 2007, the market sentiment is gradually recovering," she said.

Zhang Zhengbo, who came to Zhou for a stock-trading account, said he missed his chance to make a fortune in the bull market of 2007 and wouldn't miss a new opportunity this year.


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