Hong Kong stocks reach highest levels in a year on positive G20, interest rate sentiment
City’s shares rise for a fourth straight session, with banks and China internet giant Tencent among the big winners
Hong Kong shares traded higher for the fourth straight session on Tuesday, reaching their highest level since August last year as Friday’sweaker-than-expected US jobs numbers and positive sentiment from the G20 meeting continued to buoy investor sentiment, with brokers hopeful the climb could continue for the rest of the month.
The Hang Seng Index gained 0.58 per cent to 23,787.68, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index closed up 1.1 per cent at 9,938.39.
The highs were driven by further fund flows into Hong Kong amid continued investor optimism after last week’s lower US jobs numbers reduced the chance of an interest rate increase, Louis Wong, director of Phillip Capital Management, told the Post.
Wong expects the bullish trend to continue until new US economic data shifts market expectations towards a possible rate rise. “I think the Hang Seng Index will continue its upward move to test the 24,000 resistance level,” he said.
Louis Tse Ming-kwong, a director of VC Brokerage, said positive sentiment from the G20, stronger PMI manufacturing data from mainland China, and money flowing in from overseas to Hong Kong had boosted trading.
He expects the Hang Seng Index to reach the 24,000 resistance level by the end of the week and believes it will continue gaining for the rest of the month. “There’s still quite a bit of momentum to test higher ground,” he said.
Chinese internet giant Tencent reached its highest ever value, up 2.28 per cent to close at HK$215 - beating Monday’s record and making it Asia’s most valuable company.
Banks also rose on Tuesday thanks to China’s Postal Saving Bank initial public offering due later this month, Wong said. ICBC rose 1.41 per cent to HK$5.05, China Construction Bank was up 1.34 per cent to HK$6.07 and Bank of China gained 1.37 per cent to HK$3.70.
Hong Kong’s stock exchange operator HKEX also saw gains, closing up 1.9 per cent at HK$198.
The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 0.61 per cent on Tuesday at 3,090.71, its highest in over two weeks, while the CSI 300, which tracks the large companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, rose 0.69 per cent to 3,342.63. The Shenzhen Composite Index gained 1.49 per cent to 2,048.19, its highest level since January, while the Nasdaq-style ChiNext closed up 1.84 per cent at 2,222.84.
Elsewhere around the region, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.26 per cent higher at 17,082 while South Korea’s Kospi was up 0.31 per cent.
