Hong Kong shares ended up 0.17 per cent on Monday, in line with a regional advance and despite data pointing to a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing growth in February.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 37.64 points to 22,820.08 on turnover of HK$54.60 billion (US$7.05 billion).
British banking giant HSBC said mainland manufacturing growth hit a four-month low in February but remained positive, noting that the world’s second-biggest economy was still recovering slowly.
The preliminary purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 50.4 for the month, down from a final 52.3 in January, HSBC said. The figure was seasonally adjusted to take account of the Lunar New Year holiday that fell in the middle of the month. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
Liao Qun, a Hong Kong-based economist with Citic Bank International, said weaker manufacturing activity in February may have suggested the domestic rebound was unstable, but the overall recovery trend remained intact.
Bargain-hunting after the market lost 2.3 per cent in the previous two sessions also helped offset the Hong Kong government’s Friday announcement of more measures to cap property prices.
But Sun Hung Kai Properties dropped 1.3 per cent to HK$117.70 and Henderson Land fell 0.7 per cent to HK$53.00.