BEIJING: China stocks closed up on Monday even as banks kept their lending benchmarks unchanged, with real estate developers leading the gains as property sales recovered after supportive measures buoyed demand.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.5 percent to 4,330.43, while the Shanghai Composite Index was almost unchanged at 3,315.43 points.
The Hang Seng index rose 0.4 percent to 21,163.91, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.4 percent to 7,399.60 points.
Tesla cars banned
Tesla cars will be prohibited from entering the Chinese coastal district of Beidaihe, site of a secretive annual summer party leadership conclave, for at least two months starting July 1, a local traffic police official told Reuters on Monday.
The decision by the Beidaihe authorities comes just weeks after Tesla cars were also barred from some roads in the central city of Chengdu in early June, which coincided with a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the city.
The official from the Beidaihe Traffic Police Brigade, who declined to give his name, did not provide a reason for the move but said it concerned “national affairs.” An announcement will be made soon, the official said.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Power demand rises
Power consumption surged in large Chinese provinces north of the Yangtze river amid warmer-than-normal weather, with regions like Henan, China’s third-most populous province, challenged by record electricity demand.
The maximum power demand load in Henan, which has a population of nearly 100 million people, set a new record of 65.34 million kilowatts on Sunday, state television reported on Monday.
While the provincial grid was able to cope with the heavy demand, electricity supply in Henan is expected to be relatively high this summer, according to the report, with the maximum load seen rising further to nearly 75 million kilowatts.
In contrast to the heaviest rainfall in 60 years in southern China, Henan and nearby Shandong and parts of Hebei have battled with scorching heatwaves and drought-like conditions this month.
(With input from Reuters)
