Chinese stocks advanced after fresh manufacturing data pointed to sustained factory expansion and President Xi Jinping reaffirmed his commitment to promoting high-quality economic development. The upbeat market reaction reflected growing optimism over the resilience of China’s industrial sector and the continued strength of technology and innovation-driven industries.
However, investor sentiment remains tempered by concerns over uneven economic growth, with persistent weakness in consumer confidence, the labour market and the property sector continuing to weigh on the broader recovery.
China’s manufacturing sector expanded for a seventh consecutive month, marking its strongest quarterly performance since late 2020. The data reinforced expectations that industrial production remains a key pillar of economic growth despite ongoing challenges in other parts of the economy.
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The stronger-than-expected factory activity provided investors with reassurance that export-oriented manufacturing and industrial output continue to support China’s recovery.
President Xi Jinping renewed his pledge to pursue high-quality development, signalling that Beijing remains committed to an economic strategy centred on technological innovation, industrial upgrading and sustainable long-term growth.
The remarks reinforced expectations that policymakers will continue prioritising advanced manufacturing, strategic industries and innovation rather than relying solely on traditional stimulus measures to support the economy.
Technology-related stocks led gains as investors increased exposure to sectors expected to benefit from China’s industrial and technological ambitions. Chipmaking equipment, biotechnology and software companies posted strong advances, reflecting continued confidence in industries viewed as central to China’s long-term economic transformation.
The rally highlights investors’ preference for sectors with stronger earnings potential and policy support.
Alongside technology stocks, gains also spread to agriculture and property-related shares, suggesting investor optimism is gradually broadening beyond high-growth industries.
Although these sectors continue to face structural challenges, their recovery indicates improving market sentiment and expectations that policy support could help stabilise weaker areas of the economy.
Despite encouraging manufacturing data, investors remain cautious about China’s broader economic outlook. Consumer spending continues to be constrained by weak confidence, labour market pressures and the prolonged downturn in the property sector, creating an uneven recovery across different parts of the economy.
The divergence between strong industrial performance and softer domestic demand continues to shape investment strategies and policy expectations.
Chinese markets are likely to remain supported by resilient manufacturing activity, continued policy backing for innovation and expectations of further measures to sustain economic growth. However, the durability of the rally will depend on whether improvements in industrial production translate into stronger domestic consumption and broader economic recovery.
Investors will closely monitor upcoming economic data and government policy announcements for signs that Beijing can address persistent weaknesses in the property market, employment and consumer confidence while maintaining momentum in high-value manufacturing and technology sectors.
With information from Reuters.
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Union leaders trumpeted gains in SAG-AFTRA’s tentative contract with the major studios, citing stronger AI protections and the consolidation of previously separate pension plans.
“The theme of this negotiation really has been about looking out for the future of performers, and I think that the contract delivers on that,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator, said in an interview Tuesday.
After striking the deal a little over a week ago, SAG-AFTRA said its national board approved the proposed contract on Monday.
The union‘s membership, which includes more than 160,000 actors, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, stunt performers, voice-over artists and other entertainment professionals, will begin voting on the new contract later this week.
“The scope of the contract is something that I hope the members find meaningful,” SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin said.
One of the chief gains, he said, was merging of the pension plans of the two previously separate unions — the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists — fourteen years after they agreed to combine.
Their health plans were consolidated in 2017, but the pensions have remained separate until the current negotiation cycle. That was a major sticking point with members, some of whom couldn’t qualify for benefits as their contributions were split between two plans. Studios agreed to boost their overall contributions to the combined plan by 1%.
Union leaders also pointed to stronger protections against AI, including new guidelines that govern how studios should use generative AI and that strongly favor “human performances.”
The guardrails state that producers should not intend to use AI in a human role unless a synthetic actor brings “significant additional value” to the production. The contract draws a distinction between a digital replica that is created with a performer’s consent vesus a synthetic digital character that is not authorized.
“Digital replicas are derived from human beings who have compensation and other protections available to them,” Astin said. “If it can’t be done like that, then they’ve got to bargain with us for some very unique use of synthetics…That’s a pretty high bar.”
Under the new contract, minimum wage rates will increase by 3% annually. The agreement also boosts the so-called bonus for residuals that performers get on most-watch streaming shows. Members will increase their contribution to the health plan by 1%.
The actors’ union first began negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in February and extended those talks in March. They were briefly paused to allow the studios to finish negotiations with the writers’ union.
SAG-AFTRA joins WGA as the latest Hollywood union to strike a four-year deal with the studios. The previous contract term was three years.
The Directors Guild of America is the last union that still needs to land its own agreement. Negotiation sessions with the studios started on Monday. The contract is set to expire on June 30.