Sunresin New Materials' Profit Rises 10%, Operating Income Climbs 3%

Chinese stocks rebounded on Wednesday as new home prices barely moved downward in January, which could signal the start of stability in pricing.

The Shanghai Composite Index, the main gauge of Chinese stocks, rose 0.81% or by 27.05 points to 3,351.54. The Shenzhen Component Index increased 1.46% or by 155.39 points to 10,772.65.

Prices of new homes in 70 cities declined 0.07% in January, slower than the 0.08% fall seen in December 2024, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Second-hand home prices declined 0.34% in January compared with 0.31% in December, the report said.

The narrower decline could be seen as a sign of hope for the struggling property sector, the report said.

However, China will need a solid rebound in prices to put a floor to declining prices, Bloomberg reported, citing a note by Fitch Ratings.

China Vanke's shares finished 2% higher on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong is seen to further the globalization of the renminbi due to higher liquidity and usage among individuals and businesses, the South China Morning Post reported, citing remarks by Hong Kong Undersecretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Joseph Chan Ho-lim at a Bank of China (Hong Kong) forum.

The city is host to the largest offshore liquidity pool for the redback. Renminbi deposits were at 1.1 trillion yuan as of the end of 2024, according to the SCMP report.

China also incurred a foreign exchange deficit of $45.3 billion in January. In renminbi terms, the forex deficit was 324.8 billion yuan.

In corporate news, Jiangsu Jiuwu Hi-Tech's shares jumped 6% in Shenzhen even as it has halted its exports of sorbents for extracting lithium from brines since Feb. 1.

The export controls signal Beijing's export controls, which came in retaliation against US tariffs on Chinese goods, are already reshaping industry behavior.

Sunresin New Materials , another sorbent company, also closed 9% higher Wednesday.

JiangSu JiuWu Hi-Tech has stopped exporting sorbents, which is used to extract lithium from brines, starting Feb. 1, signaling that Beijing's proposed export controls are already reshaping industry behavior, The Standard reported Tuesday.

Though Beijing's restrictions remain a proposal, companies like JiangSu JiuWu Hi-Tech and Sunresin New Materials are reportedly in talks with regulators, according to the report.

Industry insiders said the mere threat of controls is deterring exports, with banks demanding extra approvals and officials cautioning against major deals, The Standard wrote. The move underscores China's leverage over global lithium supply chains amid rising US-China tensions.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)