Metal Products News
- Steelmakers gain on talk of Rio Tinto bid
Date: 6-Dec-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
STEEL stocks led mainland shares higher yesterday following a report that domestic steelmakers may be considering a joint bid for Rio Tinto, which could give China a greater say in iron ore price talks.
PetroChina also helped boost the index, as it rose on bargain hunting following a sharp decline.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both A and B shares, ended up 2.6 percent at 5,042.65. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 2.8 percent to 1,296.72.
Analysts generally expect the market to be steady in the near term as investors await economic data and potential tightening measures.
Zhang Gang, a strategist at Central China Securities, said he expected the Shanghai index to stay around 5,000 points in the coming days.
'There's no consensus over the market's direction now due to policy uncertainties, as evidenced by the moderate trading volume,'he said.
The government is due to release November inflation data Tuesday.
Zhang Yang, an analyst with Orient Securities, said if the November inflation rate is above 6 percent, the government would likely implement more macroeconomic tightening measures.
Among the top gainers of the day, Baoshan Iron & Steel jumped 6.6 percent to 16.56 yuan (US$2.24), Wuhan Iron & Steel soared 8.5 percent to 16.69 yuan and Angang Steel surged 9.2 percent to 28.80 yuan.
Rio Tinto is prepared to consider approaches from China after it was reported that Chinese steelmakers may be considering an offer which could value Rio Tinto at more than US$200 billion, the Telegraph reported yesterday.
Sponsor Results:
