China's official media reported that China’s stock market recorded its biggest rally in more than a year on July 6, after state media encouraged investors to invest and reap the benefits of a post- coronavirus economic boom. The State-owned Shanghai Securities News (July 3) claimed the signs of a bull market are more and more clear.” A Xinhua (July 6) said investors were “running” into stocks while a front-page (July 6) also anticipated the prospect of a “healthy” bull market, adding that investors could look forward “to the wealth effect” of rising prices. China's CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed shares jumped 5.7 per cent with trading volumes more than double their recent average. More than 280 of the CSI 300’s shares finished in positive territory, while many banks and brokerage firms rose by the daily maximum of 10 per cent. The financials sector as a whole rose 9 per cent. Analysts said Chinese authorities could be seeking to push up prices in the hope this would boost consumer spending and support a broader economic recovery. 

(Comment: China’s stock market is the world’s second largest after the United States, with 3,868 companies worth US$ 8.4 trillion listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges as of May 2020.)