Sector movers: China stimulus speculation boosts miners

Industrial miners lent their heft to the broader market on Tuesday again as investors continued to digest signals from China that its government would support the recovery.

Nevertheless, some economists remained cautious.

"China is seeking to support the economy without exacerbating debt risks, which resulted in part from investment in poor-quality projects," said Duncan Wrigley, chief China+ economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

"The ideal scenario is to square the circle, by promoting investment in industrial upgrading and high-tech sectors, to form new “pillars” of growth. But this will take time, and, meanwhile, China is likely to muddle through by offering dollops of limited stimulus to keep broad economy growth ticking over."

Three-month LME copper futures jumped 1.84% to $8,673.50 per metric tonne on the back of the news.

The Stoxx 600 sector index for Basic Resources meanwhile climbed by 4.24%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shot higher by 5% on the back of the news.

Top performing sectors so far today

Chemicals 10,623.77 +3.28%

Industrial Metals & Mining 6,891.80 +3.01%

Personal Care, Drug and Grocery Stores 4,275.00 +2.58%

Life Insurance 6,680.63 +1.82%

Non-life Insurance 3,131.27 +1.68%

Bottom performing sectors so far today

Retailers 3,536.60 -5.17%

Food Producers 6,719.83 -1.34%

Travel & Leisure 7,496.16 -1.32%

Aerospace and Defence 6,326.23 -1.16%

Oil, Gas and Coal 8,305.68 -1.07%