Update | Hang Seng blasts above 28,000, powered by gains in property stocks, Tencent
Hang Seng Index advances 1.3 pc to close at 28,159.77, marking the highest level since May 2015
Hong Kong stocks swung to their highest level in 27 months as on Monday, as Tencent climbed to a record high and Chinese real estate developers and brokerages rose on optimism of support from mainland policy.
“Tencent’s rise is dragging the whole market up,” said Louis Wong Wai-kit, director of Phillip Capital Management. “Brokerage, property, and technology sectors are also climbing amid rising expectations of market-friendly measures from Chinese policymakers.”
The Hang Seng Index climbed 1.3 per cent on Monday, or 352.18 points, to 28,159.77, marking the highest level since May 2015.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, known as the H-share index, gained 1.2 per cent to 11,195.98.
Internet giant Tencent, the most heavily traded stock, surged 2.1 per cent to a record high of HK$346.0, bringing its year to date advance to 82.4 per cent. Optimism in the sector was boosted after a high valuation was given to Zhong An Online’s IPO, Wong said. Chinese online insurance broker Zhong An Online P&C Insurance said over the weekend it planned to offer 199.29 million shares and raise up to US$1.5 billion in a global initial public offering.
Apple supplier AAC Technologies rebounded 4.5 per cent to HK$143.8. Sunny Optical Technology surged 4.2 per cent to HK$130.0.
Chinese brokerage shares climbed as the mainland regulators relaxed restrictions on index futures trading. Citic Securities, the nation’s biggest broker, climbed 8.5 per cent to HK$18.3 Citic Securities, China Galaxy Securities jumped 5.5 per cent to HK$7.23.
Real estate developers pushed higher after new home prices in 70 major Chinese cities rose 8.3 per cent in August from a year ago, marking the 23rd straight month of increase, although slowing from July’s 9.7 per cent gain, according to a Reuters’ calculation based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
China Resources Land climbed 7.5 per cent to HK$27.10. China Overseas Land and Development advanced 4.8 per cent to HK$29.200. Hong Kong property firms Henderson Land Development and New World Development gained 2.1 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively to HK$55.3 and HK$11.46.
Chinese car maker Geely Auto soared 7.7 per cent to HK$22.35, market the highest level since 1993, and the best-performing blue-chip stock. It contributed 27 points of gains to the Hang Seng Index.
Shares in the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing rose 4.3 per cent, the biggest rise since September 2016, to HK$218.2.
Ping An Insurance rose 1.5 per cent to HK$62.85, and China Life Insurance gained 1.5 per cent to HK$24.10.
On the Chinese mainland, the Shenzhen Composite Index advanced 0.7 per cent to 2,002.74 to its highest level since April 14, and the start-up board index ChiNext both gained up 1.0 per cent to 1,894.80.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3 per cent to 3,362.86 and the large-company tracking CSI300 also added 0.3 per cent to 3,843.14.
On Friday in New York, the S&P 500 Index edged up 0.2 per cent to close at 2,500.23, boosted by telecommunications and financials. The index also recorded its biggest weekly gain since January.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 per cent to end at 22,268.34. For the week, it advanced 2.2 per cent, the best weekly performance since December.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3 per cent to close Friday at 6,448.47.
