Markets reward China's reform ambition, await follow-up

By Clement Tan and Kevin Yao HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - Investors rewarded Beijing on Monday for a bold and wide-ranging reform plan, boosting stocks led by consumer goods shares seen as direct beneficiaries of the promised easing of China's long-standing one-child policy and efforts to boost consumption. The initial outline published at the end of a four-day conclave of China's top leadership disappointed markets with its lack of detail and its ambiguity. "The full-version report addressed many uncertainties and questions ... and the comprehensiveness and depth of reform measures exceeded market expectations," said Haibin Zhu, chief China economist with JPMorgan. China's CSI300 index of leading Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listings rose 1.25 percent by 0200 GMT after it clocked its biggest percentage gain in two months on Friday, while the Shanghai Composite gained 1.1 percent.

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