Chinese property developers see hope in Politburo policy shift

HONG KONG -- China's Politburo last Friday electrified tech stocks by signaling a policy shift toward the sector. The party's central political committee acknowledged the "need to enhance healthy development" and declared the "completion of specialized rectification and reform" of tech platforms, causing shares of Alibaba, Tencent and others to shoot up.

However, the Politburo meeting had more to it. To those watching the steep slide in activity in China's influential property market, including its highly leveraged private developers, the most eye-catching part of the authorized report came immediately before the passage on tech platforms.