Politburo meeting boosts confidence that Beijing will support troubled stock markets

China’s Politburo meeting has stoked speculation about more policy support for the country’s stock markets after the first leg of state buying stopped short of stemming a decline that drove technology shares to their biggest-ever monthly slide.

The economic-policy huddle, chaired by President Xi Jinping, made a rare reference to stocks by pledging to bolster resilience and confidence in capital markets, according to a readout released on Thursday. The Communist Party’s prime decision-making body also said that China would deepen the reforms of the capital market in terms of investment and financing.

The rhetoric underscores top policymakers’ priority of financial stability to prop up the stock market, which they rely on for technological innovation and independence through equity financing. China’s tech drive is hitting a snag, with turbulent sell-offs in global artificial-intelligence (AI) stocks spilling over to mainland-listed chipmakers and manufacturers of transceivers used in AI data centres. Attempts to counter the rout, such as regulatory talks and 60 billion yuan (US$8.9 billion) of state buying, failed to revive confidence.