Market update: Chinese equity market soars 5% following additional details from Third Plenary meeting – 18.11.2013

Source: Henderson Global Investors

Wall Street closed higher on Friday with the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 up 0.5% and 0.4% respectively, driven by reassuring remarks by Federal Reserve chair nominee Janet Yellen that the central bank’s accommodative policies would continue. ExxonMobil shares rose 2.2% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a new $3.45bn stake in the world’s largest publicly traded oil company.

In Asia, additional details released on Friday night from China’s Third Plenary Meeting have helped Asian equities enjoy robust gains this morning led by the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which is up 5.2% after a rise of 3.0% on Friday. The world's second largest economy announced on Friday that it would relax its one-child policy, open up market access and abolish controversial labour camps.

European stocks are lower this morning with the FTSE 100 and the FTSE Eurofirst 300 down 0.3% and 0.2% respectively. In stock news, Aberdeen Asset Management gained after Lloyds Banking Group agreed to sell its Scottish Widows Investment Partnership division to the money manager. Elsewhere, Petrofac slumped after the energy services firm said it expected net income to be flat or grow modestly next year.