Central Huijin buys stocks in 4 Chinese major banks

Central Huijin Investment Ltd, an arm of China's sovereign wealth fund, bought shares in four major Chinese State-owned banks on the secondary market on Monday, the company told Xinhua. The four banks include the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), Bank of China (BOC) and China Construction Bank (CCB), according to the company. The move is aimed at supporting the steady operation and development of major financial institutions and stabilizing their stock prices, the company said. It is not clear how many shares Central Huijing bought in the banks. China's financial stocks have been weak amid the government's firm tightening measures on liquidity meant to ease inflation. The People's Bank of China, or the country's central bank, has raised interest rates three times and hiked the reserve requirement ratio six times to drain excessive money out of market this year. ICBC's share price rose 0.25 percent to 3.99 yuan at Monday's market close. That of ABC stood at 2.47 yuan, up 0.41 percent from the previous close. BOC saw its share price stand at 2.87 yuan, up 0.7 percent, while CCB's price gained 0.23 percent to 4.41 yuan. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell to 2,344.79 on Monday, hitting its lowest level in more than two years.