Maternity goods firm Shanghai Aiyingshi Co. and incubator firm Ningbo David Medical Device Co. both surged by as much as the 10 percent daily limit. Beingmate Baby & Child Food Co. climbed as much as 5 percent in Shenzhen on a day of muted moves in China’s stock markets, while Guangdong Qunxing Toys Joint-Stock Co. advanced. Even piano makers enjoyed a boost, with Hailun Piano Co. and Guangzhou Pearl River Piano Group Co. advancing.

"The removal of birth limits won’t necessarily bring about a baby boom, so it’s likely a speculative trade that won’t last long," said Zhang Gang, Shanghai-based strategist with Central China Securities Co. "Big funds wouldn’t want to engage in such short-term trades, and the sector is just not big enough to handle the inflows."

China’s cabinet is looking at what might happen if the country ended its roughly four-decade-old policy, said people who asked not to be named while discussing government deliberations. The country is facing the prospects of a rapidly aging population and has had to deal with criticism from foreign governments over its family-planning policies.

Baby-related stocks in Japan also rose, with Pigeon Corp., Unicharm Corp. and Nippon Shokubai Co. adding at least 2 percent. Chinese tourists are known to go on shopping binges for high-quality consumer products on trips to countries like Japan.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.4 percent as of 11:06 a.m. local time.