Shares of Meituan, the Chinese food delivery and e-commerce giant, surged 11.63% on Thursday, amid a broad rally in Chinese stocks fueled by an extensive economic stimulus package unveiled by Beijing this week.
In a coordinated effort to arrest the country's growth slowdown, China's top leadership announced a slew of policies aimed at boosting consumption and stabilizing the troubled real estate sector. Key measures include cutting banks' reserve requirements, lowering borrowing costs, increasing fiscal spending through sovereign bond issuances, and providing support for pre-sold residential projects.
Analysts view this as the most aggressive stimulus by China since the pandemic, signaling authorities' urgency to revive the economy. "At face value, all measures announced this week signal that the urgency of policy response is not lost on authorities - an important shift in a market that was looking for more than just the bare minimum," Barclays analysts said. Goldman Sachs' Scott Rubner described it as a potential inflection point, suggesting "this time is different for China."
The sweeping policy package has stoked optimism that Chinese equities, long underowned by global investors, are finally poised for a sustained recovery. Rubner noted hedge funds have started aggressively buying Chinese stocks after years of underweight positioning. Mutual funds and passive investors are also expected to increase allocations, with the latter benefiting from rising ETF inflows into China-focused funds.
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