Investing.com– China’s mainland stock indexes opened higher on Tuesday after the Lunar New Year break, aided by relief from steep U.S. trade tariffs and as government data highlighted increased consumer spending during the recent holiday.
The rose 1% in morning trade, while the Shanghai Composite index added 0.8% in their first trading day since February 13.
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Gains were broad-based, with export-oriented stocks advancing on the prospect of lower U.S. trade tariffs in the near-term. This came after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a bulk of President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs were illegal, with the levies set to be revoked from Tuesday.
While Trump did announce more tariffs under a different legal framework, they were substantially lower than his prior duties, pointing to some near-term relief for Chinese exporters. Several export-oriented Chinese companies had rallied in Hong Kong trade on Monday.
Chinese markets were also encouraged by signs that consumer spending during the Lunar New Year break remained robust. The holiday was the longest yet Lunar New Year break on record, as authorities extended the break and ramped up stimulus measures to support local demand.
Early data from the Ministry of Commerce showed foot traffic and sales revenue in China’s major shopping areas both grew nearly 5% from last year.
Travel within the country hit a record high of 5.08 billion trips since early-February, the People’s Daily newspaper reported, while outbound travel, especially to destinations in Southeast Asia, rose sharply during the break.
The 2026 Lunar New Year featured a nine-day official holiday, longer than the usual trend of seven to eight days. The festival is widely regarded as one of China’s largest spending seasons, with Beijing doling out more subsidies this year as it moves to shore up spending and growth.
Domestically-exposed Chinese companies are set to benefit the most from this trend.
Chinese economic data for February and March is now expected to provide more concrete cues on just how much the economy benefited from the holiday.