Cnooc Ltd. (883) gained in New York to trade at the biggest premium over its Hong Kong shares in two weeks as data showed manufacturing expanded in the world's two largest economies last month.

American depositary receipts of China's largest offshore oil producer fetched 1 percent more in the U.S. than in Hong Kong after markets there were closed for a holiday. It was the biggest premium among dual-listed stocks in the Bloomberg China- US Equity Index (CH55BN) of the most-traded Chinese equities in the U.S. The gauge advanced 1.1 percent to 104.65 in New York, bringing its gain this week to 0.4 percent.Manufacturing in China, the world's second largest economy after the U.S., grew for a fifth month in April, while factory output in the U.S. rose at the fastest pace in 10 months, reports yesterday showed. The Shanghai Composite Index's (SHCOMP) longest bear market since 2005 is ending as the government loosens monetary policy to bolster the economy, according to Morgan Stanley Huaxin Securities and Guotai Junan Securities Co.

The manufacturing numbers "are confirmation that there won't be a hard landing," said Christian Deseglise, the New York-based managing director of HSBC Global Asset Management for the Americas, said in a phone interview. "Investors who are looking at the Chinese market should be looking at the valuation of the equities. We are at levels that are historically very, very low."

Manufacturing Gains

The IShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund (FXI), the biggest Chinese exchange-traded fund in the U.S., rose 1.1 percent to $38.35 yesterday, the highest close since March 16. The MSCI China Index (MXCN) of Hong Kong-traded shares trades for 9.8 times earnings for member companies, compared with a 10.6 times average valuation for stocks on the MSCI Emerging Market Index.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (SPX) gained 0.6 percent yesterday after a report showed that the Institute for Supply Management's U.S. factory index rose to 54.8 last month, the fastest growth since June.

In China, the Purchasing Managers' Index climbed to a 13- month high of 53.3, from 53.1 in March, the nation's statistics bureau and logistics federation said yesterday. That compared with the 53.6 median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 27 economists.

Exchanges on China's mainland were shut over the first two days of the week.

Cnooc's ADRs added 1.8 percent to $215.40 yesterday for a gain of 1.7 percent this week. The Beijing-based company rose 1.6 percent to HK$16.54, or $2.13, in Hong Kong on April 30, before markets closed yesterday for Labor Day. One ADR represents 100 shares.

'Near-Term Bottom'

ADRs of China Life Insurance Co. (LFC), the nation's biggest insurer, advanced 2.6 percent to $40.99, trading at a premium of 1 percent over its Hong Kong-listed shares.

Solar equipment makers including Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. (YGE) and Suntech Power Holdings Co. (STP) led gains in the Bloomberg China-US gauge yesterday as Citigroup Inc. said there are "signs of a near-term bottom" for the shares as demand for their products picks up.

Yingli, a Baoding, China-based solar-module maker, jumped for a sixth day in New York, after Citigroup raised its recommendation on the stock to buy from neutral. The shares surged 5.2 percent to $3.83, the highest close since March 23.

Citigroup's field work shows that solar cell and module sales have increased "significantly" over recent weeks, signaling an "inflection point" for an industry that had been hurt by signs of oversupply, Timothy Arcuri, a technology analyst at Citigroup in San Francisco, wrote in a research note e-mailed yesterday.

Short-Lived Bounce

Suntech, the world's biggest maker of solar panels, jumped 7.9 percent to $2.72, the biggest one-day gain since March 20. Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL), China's third-biggest maker of solar panels, climbed 3 percent to $7.48, the highest close since March 26.

The bounce in solar stocks will be short-lived as governments in countries including Germany, the world's biggest solar market, cut subsidies to the industry, which still suffers from overcapacity, according to Min Xu, an equity analyst at Jefferies Group Inc.

"There are too many players," Xu said yesterday by phone in New York. "We still don't think, fundamentally, anything has changed."

China's two domestic stock exchanges -- Shenzhen and Shanghai -- will lower fees charged for trading yuan-denominated shares by 25 percent from June 1, the nation's securities regulator said in a statement on its website on April 30.

Foreigners Restricted

The Shanghai Composite Index of domestic Chinese stocks has rallied 12 percent from this year's low reached on Jan. 5 as reports showing a revival in bank lending and manufacturing spurred investors to snap up shares trading at the cheapest levels on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The gauge of mainland-listed stocks, restricted to local investors and qualified foreign institutional money managers, is still trading 61 percent below its 2007 peak after closing at 2,396.32 on April 27 before the holiday. The retreat, which kept the index below 20 percent of its peak for 423 days, ranks as the second-longest bear market since 1990, according to Birinyi Associates Inc.

The Shanghai Composite may rally another 30 percent this year as lower reserve requirements boost bank shares, Jerry Lou, chief strategy officer at Morgan Stanley Huaxin in Shanghai, said in an April 24 phone interview.
Three Chinese companies traded in the U.S. are scheduled to release earnings results this week.

Youku Earnings

Spreadtrum Communications Inc. (SPRD), a Shanghai-based chip designer, will issue first-quarter earnings after the market closes tomorrow. The company's shares fell 0.2 percent to $13.77 in New York yesterday.

Youku Inc. (YOKU), the biggest online video operator in China, and Seaspan Corp., a Hong Kong-based container ship operator, are expected to report earnings the following day, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Youku added 0.4 percent to $24.14 yesterday while Seaspan gained 4.4 percent to close at $17.44, the highest level since April 3.

Of the 16 companies in the Bloomberg China-US index that have reported earnings since April 10, eight fell short of analysts' forecasts, including Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. (YZC) and China Telecom Corp. (CHA), according to data compiled by Bloomberg.