Shanghai exchange sees rally on hopes of foreign investment

The upcoming launch of the Hong Kong-Shanghai Stock Connect has prompted a rally for China’s largest listed firms and sent the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 5.1% in the past month, The Wall Street Journal reported. Since the linkup only grants investors access to Shanghai’s exchange, Chinese investors have turned to that bourse on expectations that foreign money will push prices even higher. Meanwhile, startup firms on the once-hot Shenzhen exchange have lost their luster, with the ChiNext index down 5% over the past month.