BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- China's stock markets
remained unaffected by the central bank's latest interest rate hike on Monday,
with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closing higher.
The index, which covers both A and B shares, closed
at 3,014.44 points, up 83.96.
The Shanghai A-share Index was up 88.63 points at
3,167.72 and the Shenzhen A-share Index was up 10.03 points at 818.80.
The market had been anticipating the rate hike, which
came as no surprise when it was announced on Saturday.
China Life, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of
China, the Bank of China and other banks surged more than five percent.
The rate hike only affected industries in great need
of capital, like the real estate, steel and auto sectors.
The RMB appreciation is one of the main impetuses for
the bullish stock market, analysts say.
The value of the Chinese yuan against the U.S. dollar
hit a new high on Monday with a central parity rate of 7.7351 yuan to the
dollar, according to the Chinese Foreign Exchange Trading System.
The 16th recorded high of the RMB was driven by the
interest rate hike, experts say.
The rate hike reflected the central bank's concern
over the trend towards a higher inflation rate and an overheated economy, said
Tang Min, chief economist with the Asia Development Bank Mission in China.
China's Consumer Price Index, a major inflation
indicator, rose 2.7 percent in February and urban fixed asset investment surged
23.4 percent last month, according to figures from the National Bureau of
Statistics.
The one-year rate for deposits increased by 0.27
percentage points to 2.79 percent and that for loans to 6.39 percent, according
to the People's Bank of China.
BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank announced on Saturday that the one-year benchmark interest rates are raised by 0.27 percentage points as of March 18.
The one-year rate for deposits is increased to 2.79 percent and that for loans to 6.39 percent, according to the People's Bank of China, or the central bank.
This is the first interest rate rise in 2007 after the central bank had raised commercial banks' deposit reserve ratio by 0.5 percentage points twice earlier this year to rein in excessive bank lending.
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