Savers switch to equities

SHANGHAI - Investors opened the most accounts to trade Chinese stocks last week in three months as households shifted funds into equities to protect against faster inflation.

Individual investors opened 352,203 accounts, data from the nation's clearing house showed on Wednesday, the most since the week ended Dec 11 and a third straight gain.

Consumer prices jumped 2.7 percent last month, government data showed, exceeding the 12-month household savings deposit rate of 2.25 percent. The number of households expecting inflation to accelerate in the next three months increased, the central bank said on Tuesday, citing a quarterly survey.