China's stock markets saw heavy turnover on Monday but little change to the key indices as the impact of Deng Xiaoping's death faded and profit-taking set in, analysts said.
Investors expect little chance of any political problems emerging to shake the markets, at least for the next few weeks, they said.
"It seems to be all very stable," said stock analyst Alex Conroy with ING-Barings in Shanghai. "I expect range trading for a while. There's no particular reason to be trading in a frenzy."
Shanghai's domestic A share index edged down 0.77 percent to 1,055.078 points on heavy volume of 1.02 billion shares while the B share index was little changed at 65.707 points, inching up just 0.21 percent against the close on Friday last week.
In Shenzhen, the A index rose 0.95 percent to 362.69 points and the B index lost 0.15 percent to 150.73 points.
"The markets were under profit-taking pressure after the past two trading days of rises," said a Shanghai-based A share dealer with China Guotai Securities.
"Institutional speculative buying of heavily-weighted stocks pushed the (Shanghai B share) index up, but most investors took a wait-and-see attitude as Deng's death has been factored in and there is nothing else happening," said one broker.
Traders said the markets had expected Deng's death to be this year's biggest negative factor. But the relative calm in the market on Thursday and Friday following Deng's death on Wednesday has helped improve sentiment.
"Shenzhen's A share index extended gains into Monday with fewer worries about stability in China after Deng Xiaoping's death," said a Shenzhen-based broker.
Some stock analysts said the markets, in the near-term, would likely move in line with company results and technical factors.
"The most important factors in the short term will be company results with the annual report season now getting into full swing," said one analyst.
"The (Shanghai's B share) market has entered a correction peroid, and the performance of individual stocks will depend on their annual results," said a broker.
But others are more cautious.
"I expect most investors to stay on the sidelines in the next few days, waiting for market-moving incentives," a Shenzhen-based analyst with a major Chinese brokerage said.
"I would suggest investors have more cash in hand as market sentiment does not appear quite stable," a broker said.
The Shanghai Securities News on Monday predicted the stock markets will rise steadily in 1997 on the back of an improved national economy.
The newspaper forecast in a commentary that Shanghai's composite index would soon rise to more than 1,100 points. The index closed at 1,009.564 points on Monday.
"The improved macro-economy and financial conditions dictate that stock indices will have an upward trend in 1997," the newspaper said.
($1 = 8.3 yuan)
