(Yicai Global) April 17 -- Stock markets on China's mainland opened robustly this morning as investors wagered on better-than-expected first quarter economic data ahead of its release this morning.

The Shanghai Composite Index opened 0.55 percent up at 2,835.56, while the Shenzhen Component Index was 0.88 percent forceful at 10,562.90. The ChiNext Price Index, which tracks growth enterprises listed in Shenzhen, started the day with a 0.86 percent gain at 2,025.65.

The Chinese government is expected to announce its first-ever quarterly gross domestic product contraction since it started to include such data in its set of economic indicators in the early 1990s.

An Yicai Global survey of 23 chief economists at major Chinese financial institutions found these predicted, on average, that the world's second-largest economy contracted 6.48 percent as the coronavirus epidemic significantly braked the nation's economic activity.

Editor: Ben Armour