Chinese stocks closed at a two-year high on Thursday, roaring back from a coronavirus-driven sell-off as investors prepared for more relief measures from Beijing.

Despite widespread disruption to supply chains in China, the country’s CSI 300 stock index gained 2.2 per cent on the day, making it the best-performing major stock market in the world. The index has gained nearly 3 per cent so far in 2020 while most other big global indices languish in the red. The S&P 500 is down 3 per cent and the FTSE 100 is off 1.6 per cent.

Shenzen’s smaller technology-focused composite index has performed even better, gaining 12 per cent this year, largely due to a rally in internet companies that benefit from enforced stays at home due to quarantine measures as well as speculative plays by momentum-driven retail investors. The Shanghai Composite, which includes more financial and industrial companies, trails well behind it with a rise of just 0.7 per cent this year.