China stocks rally on quant fund clampdown, property support

Chinese stocks rallied as authorities clamped down on trading by quant funds, adding to a series of recent support measures to end the market rout.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained as much as 3.5% to its highest in seven weeks. Property developers were among the biggest gainers after state media reported that banks have approved 123.6 billion yuan ($17 billion) of loans for property projects on the so-called white list since January.

Authorities have redoubled their efforts to rescue the stock market in recent weeks, including further purchases by state funds, while an unexpectedly large cut to a mortgage reference rate on Monday has also aided sentiment. China’s two main stock exchanges vowed to tighten supervision of quantitative trading, especially leveraged products, which have been pointed out amplifying market volatility.