Economic Watch: Chinese stocks’ strong rally rebuilds confidence

BEIJING – The Chinese stock market has staged a strong rally in the first week of the Chi­nese Lunar New Year after trading re­sumed following an eight-day Chinese Spring Festival holiday. Counting in the three days of sharp rises before the holiday, the market has achieved an 8-day rising streak since Feb 6, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rising by more than 11 percent and the Shenzhen Compo­nent Index up by nearly 13 percent dur­ing Feb. 6-23. On Friday, Chinese stocks closed 0.55 percent higher at 3,004.88, a tad higher above the psychologically important 3,000 mark, while the Shen­zhen Component Index closed up 0.28 percent at 9,069.42. As the Chinese ushered in the Year of the Dragon, also known…