Investors have had to deal with a lot of uncertainty lately, and Wall Street has had trouble generating much confidence. However, things seemed to look up on Wednesday, as market participants had higher hopes for the possibility of a peaceful resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war and looked forward to some clarity from the Federal Reserve on interest rates. Futures contracts on the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -1.49%) had jumped almost 2% as of 8:15 a.m. ET.
The biggest contributors to the Nasdaq's performance on Wednesday morning came from stocks of companies located in China. Many top Chinese businesses have seen their share prices slashed amid concerns about possible delisting or sanctions against the world's most populous nation, but investors got a sign of confidence from the Chinese government that quelled at least some of their concerns.
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Huge rebounds for Chinese stocks
Premarket gains for many Nasdaq-listed Chinese stocks were immense. Among the more popular, you'll find the following:
- Pinduoduo (PDD -1.44%) led all Nasdaq-100 constituent stocks with a 35% premarket gain.
- Internet specialist JD.com (JD -3.18%) saw its shares climb 25% higher in the premarket session.
- Top tech players had solid gains, including Baidu (BIDU -1.87%) with a 16% rise and video game specialist NetEase (NTES -0.90%) climbing 18%.
- Smaller companies also did well, including a 32% jump for Bilibili (BILI -2.69%).
- In the electric vehicle space, Li Auto (LI 0.67%) picked up 21% in the premarket session, adding to its 12% rise on Tuesday.
News from the Chinese government was largely responsible for restoring some confidence among investors in these stocks. China indicated a willingness to act in efforts to calm the stock market while continuing to foster growth in its economy. More broadly, government officials seemed ready to ease up on what has been a sustained effort to tighten regulatory pressure on top companies, especially within the tech industry. Moreover, with property companies under credit pressure, government support could go a long way toward preventing default and keeping the national financial system in good working order.
Opening a safety valve
Even with the gains, Chinese stocks still face the threat of U.S. delisting, and they're increasingly taking steps to protect their access to capital. Bilibili's gains came in part due to its decision to convert to a dual-primary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Even though dual listing wouldn't necessarily prevent substantial share-price declines if U.S. exchanges did move forward with delisting, it would nevertheless ensure an orderly market for the stock and keep open the potential for secondary stock offerings in the future.
Many investors still believe that Chinese stocks are subject to too many external factors to evaluate well. There's no doubt that many Chinese businesses are already global leaders in their industries and have huge potential to grow well into the future. Yet looming underneath every fundamental success story is the possibility that strict government oversight will turn against a company, to the detriment of both domestic and international shareholders.
Even with today's premarket gains, most Chinese stocks are still far, far below where they traded just a month ago. That means there's more room for gains, but it also points to just how much confidence in these stocks has deteriorated over time.
