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Georgina Lee

Deb Price

Good day, traders —
Catch up below on all the important moves today in mainland and Hong Kong markets. We always love to hear your feedback. Please drop a line to deb.price@scmp.com .
— Georgina Lee and Deb Price in Hong Kong 
 


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Stocks

Stocks Blog: Shanghai, Hong Kong end with small gains as US-China trade talks get under way

Bull statues outside the Shenzhen Stock Exchange building in the Futian District, Shenzhen. Photo:  Roy Issa


Business

Markets

Protests pose long-term risk to business confidence, but Fitch Ratings maintains Hong Kong's 'AA+' grade
Crystal Ball: Hang Seng could fall below 28,000 as Hong Kong 'wallows in chaos', says Francis Lun


Crystal Ball: Hang Seng could fall below 28,000 as Hong Kong 'wallows in chaos', says Francis Lun


China stock market

Hong Kong stock exchange

Live

Here's what we are watching this morning:
US Friday markets/ What futures foretell
--The S&P 500 fell 0.16 per cent, the Nasdaq dropped 0.44 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.11 per cent.
-- Hong Kong futures are down 0.19 per cent, while the China A50 futures are down 0.13 per cent
IPO debuts: Beijing United Information Technology (603613 CH) 
Economic statistics/Central Bank action: Nothing major scheduled
Corporate events: earnings, meetings, news conferences:
US-China trade talks get under way in Shanghai 
Earnings: Hang Lung Prop (101 HK), HK Electric (2638 HK), Huaneng Power (902 HK) 
Good reads: The latest tightening in funding might drive a fresh round of consolidation among mainland Chinese property developers, Zheng Yangpeng reports. Protests take a toll on sales at Watsons, one of Hong Kong’s most instantly recognisable retail chains, reports Eric Ng.
 


Morning guidance 

Ganso (603886 CH) said in a preliminary earnings statement to the Shanghai exchange that first-half profit increased 36 per cent from a year earlier to 35.4 million yuan on sales that rose 15 per cent.
The foodstuff maker from cakes to biscuits cited the enhancement of the sales network, decreasing costs and the translations of pre-paid cards into sales for the profit increase.
— Zhang Shidong
 


China treats maker Ganso says its 1H profits were up 36 per cent

First-half profit for China Life Insurance (601628 CH) probably rose between 115 per cent and 135 per cent from a year ago, because of bigger investment gains amid a run-up in the stock market and the implementation of new tax breaks, according to an exchange filing.
Smaller rival New China Life Insurance (601336 CH) said in a separate exchange statement that net income for the same period of time may have increased about 80 per cent, citing similar reasons.
— Zhang Shidong
 


China Life Insurance, New China Life Insurance report big run-ups in 1H net profits

First-half profit for Petpal Pet Nutrition (300673 CH) tumbled 66 per cent from a year earlier, the Chinese maker of pet food said in its interim report to the Shenzhen exchange.
The company attributed the decrease to the expense on stocks incentives and rising costs of food costs and sales network expansion.
— Zhang Shidong
 


Petpal Pet Nutrition says 1H profits tumbled on rising costs

The latest tightening in funding might drive a fresh round of consolidation among mainland Chinese property developers, with an acceleration in acquisition of land and assets by the biggest players, analysts said.
The biggest developers are expected to grow at the expense of smaller rivals, with their performance increasingly deviating from the industry average.
“Foreign investors are too bearish about Chinese developers … they see slower sales and heightened government curbs. But what they may miss is the biggest developers have outperformed the industry average by a wider margin in recent years,” said Edwin Chen, property analyst at Swiss bank UBS.
The consolidation within the industry has been gaining momentum since 2016, but will accelerate thanks to the latest policy and funding headwinds.
Sales growth at the 19 biggest developers tracked by Citic Securities, China’s largest investment bank, beat the industry average by about 10 percentage points in 2011-15 and 23 percentage points in 2016-18. In 2017, a bleak year for developers, the biggest companies beat the average by 38 percentage points.
Huang Qifan, a former mayor of Chongqing and economist, forecast that two-thirds of China’s 100,000 property companies will vanish in about 10 years
Read full story by Zheng Yangpeng here.
 


China's top property developers to get bigger

The Hang Seng recovered some of its losses Monday after an unprecedented news conference by the office overseeing Hong Kong to address the protest crisis. 
Spokespersons from the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office struck a measured tone and said a return to law and order should be “the most pressing priority.”
Here's a story on what happened and why it matters.
Here's a video on the news conference.




What will sentiment be in Hong Kong stock market after China news conference?

Seven weeks of unprecedented civil unrest have taken their toll on one of Hong Kong’s most instantly recognisable retail chains.
Health and beauty giant Watsons has seen sales plummet during the period the city’s streets have been frequently taken over by an army of angry protesters occasionally clashing violently with riot police, according to managing director Diane Cheung. She said other factors had also contributed to the decline, but the Watsons shops in districts at the centre of the massive rallies were among the worst affected.
“Month-to-date July our sales have fallen by a double-digit [percentage] from the same period last year,” she told reporters on Monday after a product launch event.
Watsons’ ubiquitous shops in Hong Kong are owned by AS Watson Group, a multinational retail giant itself a unit of tycoon Li Ka-shing’s conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings (1 HK). Sales declined year on year in June and July, according to Cheung.
Read full story here by Eric Ng.


Protests hurting sales at Watsons

Hong Kong shares opened lower, with the Hang Seng Index down 0.2 per cent at 28,059.82. Selective Hong Kong property stocks continued to weigh on the index, mirroring their drops in the previous sessions after the weekend of protests in the city stoked fear of their impact on the property market and the overall economy of Hong Kong.
Swire Pacific (19 HK) lost 2.9 per cent to HK$90; Hang Lung Properties (101 HK) was down 2.3 per cent at HK$18.04; and Sun Hung Kai Properties (16 HK) dropped 1.9 per cent to HK$124.8.
AIA (1299 HK) also led the blue chip index lower, down 1.8 per cent at HK$81.15, after it was reported that CLSA has downgraded its rating to “underperform” from “outperform”, despite also lifting its target price to HK$84 from HK$80.9.
The Hang Seng has since the opening begun to climb, and was last up 0.27 per cent.
In China, traders appeared sidelined, as US trade representatives  Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are set to meet Vice-Premier Liu He today and Wednesday in Shanghai.
The CSI 300, which tracks blue chips listed in Shenzhen and Shanghai, was up 0.2 per cent at 3,861.57; the Shanghai Composite Index also up 0.2 per cent at 2,946.26.
— Georgina Lee 


 Hong Kong struggling, while China indexes rise slightly

Things are picking up for Keen Ocean (8070 HK), the maker of audio, lamination and power transformers.
It expects its net loss for the first half ended June this year to narrow by about 90 per cent from the HK$4.3 million loss a year ago, according to a stock filing this morning.
The GEM –board listed company attributed such improvement to a decrease in the cost of sales due to higher production volumes, and a decrease in expenses.
Its share price was unmoved from Monday, at 25 HK cents, when only 200,000 shares were traded on the GEM board, which is a market for small and medium-sized companies.
— Georgina Lee 


Keen Ocean International says 1H net loss to narrow by 90 per cent

Jinxin Fertility (1951 HK) is getting a boost from new upbeat coverage by Citi — which sees "high and sustainable " market growth ahead — and Morgan Stanley.
Citi initiated it as a "buy," with a target price over the next 12 months of HK$12.80. That would be 41 per cent up from Monday's close at HK$9.05.
Morgan Stanley initiated coverage, rating it "overweight" and setting a price target at HK$11, or up 21.5 per cent up from Monday's close.
Shares are up nearly 4 per cent today to HK$9.41.
The assisted reproductive services company operates in China and the US. 
It debuted on June 25, with an IPO offer price of HK$8.54. It raised HK$2.8 billion (US$359 million).
— Deb Price
 


Jinxin Fertility soars on new coverage by Citi, Morgan Stanley

Several China stocks rose to the daily 10-per cent up limit minutes after market opened, boosted by a new guideline issued by China’s top economic planner reiterating regulators’ support for financial asset investment firms in spearheading the country’s debt-for-equity swap effort.
The guideline was issued Monday by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), along with the central bank, the Ministry of Finance, and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.
It said the government will unveil measures to lower leverage at so-called "zombie" companies and improve the mechanism for bankruptcies.
China’s debt-equity swap programme is aimed at helping reduce leverage at troubled companies by swapping their debt into equity for repaying creditors. It is a key plank of China’s corporate deleveraging initiative, which Premier Li Keqiang and the State Council have made a priority.
The stocks that shot up to the 10 per cent daily limit included GI Technologies Group  (300309 CH), which was up to 6.44 yuan, Tempus Global Business Service (300178 CH), now at 6 yuan, and Hainan Haide Industry (000567 CH), up to 9.35 yuan.
Elsewhere, Zhejiang Orient Financial (600120 CH) rose 4.4 per cent to 12.9 yuan, while Qinchuan Machine Tool & Tool Group Share  (000837 CH) rose 4.1 per cent to 4.57 yuan.
— Georgina Lee 


Fresh Beijing support for debt-for-equity swap programme boosts select stocks 

Zhejiang Dahua Technology (002236 CH), which rivals Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology (002415 CH), said in a preliminary earnings statement that first-half profit increased 15 per cent from a year ago because of boosting core technology capability and expanding overseas market.
Hangzhou Hikvision, China’s biggest maker of surveillance cameras, said in its first-half report earlier that net income for the period ended June rose 1.7 per cent.
Zhejiang Dahua is trading up 0.24 per cent at 16.41 yuan.
Hangzhou Hikvision is up 0.1 per cent to 30.89 yuan.
— Zhang Shidong


Zhejiang Dahua Technology rises after saying 1H profits up 15 per cent 

The main board debutante Beijing United Information (603613 CH) rose to its first-day upper limit of 44 per cent, at 21.79 yuan, up from its offer price of 15.13 yuan.
The company, which operates an e-commerce platform to supply businesses with raw materials and serves over 100 different industrial sectors, saw a total turnover of 480,834 yuan for the day. Its offer price represent a price-to-earning multiple at about 23 times.
— Georgina Lee


Beijing United Information hits 44 per cent first-day limit in Shanghai debut

Disruptions to economic activity from recurring protests in Hong Kong pose a downside risk to the city's GDP growth forecasts, but are unlikely to undermine its considerable financial buffers in the near term, Fitch Ratings says.
Fitch Ratings affirmed Hong Kong's "AA+" rating on June 11, two days after the protests began and before they had turned violent. Today, the ratings agency kept that rating unchanged. But it said some of the assumptions underpinning the rating are currently being tested, including the effectiveness of the territory's governance and its rule of law.
Fitch warned the protests — now nearly two months old — and rising distrust in the government could damage business confidence and erode the quality and effectiveness of governance, which supports Hong Kong's rating differential over mainland China.
Fitch viewed Hong Kong's ongoing integration with mainland China to be the city's primary rating sensitivity. 
— Enoch Yiu
 


Protests pose long-term risk to business confidence, but Fitch Ratings maintains Hong Kong's 'AA+' grade

Traders, don't let your guard down, advises Stanley Chan, research director at Emperor Securities.
We are seeing some rebound in early trading after the Hang Seng closed down 1 per cent yesterday over concern about ongoing protests.
But Chan says the gains in the Hang Seng are just a technical rebound after stocks were oversold and the index tested the 28,000 support level.
"Investors will remain quite cautious on the political tensions in Hong Kong, and will look especially at the Hong Kong economy in the second half. Some local stocks like retail and property will remain under pressure if political tension in Hong Kong (continues)," he said.
The Hang Seng index is up 0.43 per cent to 28,226.32.
It fell as much as 1.6 per cent Monday, dropping below 28,000 before closing at 28,106.41 points.
Expect range-bound trading today around 28,000 and 28,500 as investors hunt for bargains in the pharmaceutical and financials sectors as their "fundamentals remain solid", Chan said.
"There was some positive earnings surprise from China Life (02628 HK)," he added, which led the gains on the Hang Seng. It is up 2.2 per cent.
In the mainland, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.73 per cent at 2,962 points, but, again, on technical reasons, Chan said.
"Right now, I think the focus will be on the [US-China] trade talks in Shanghai," he said.
— Daryl Choo


Don't be fooled by morning gains — sentiment in Hong Kong is still cautious, says Stanley Chan

Focus Media Information Technology (002027 CH) said it expects its first half net profit dropped 76.8 per cent to 776 million yuan, and revenue dropped 19.6 per cent at 5.72 billion yuan.
In an announcement in Shenzhen, it attributed the decline to a weaker advertising market in China overall during the first half. It also had made higher provisioning for so-called credit impairment losses due to late payments from certain clients.
“The operating results are in line with the first half 2019 estimates as disclosed on April 25th in our first quarter result report,” the company said.
Alibaba — which owns the South China Morning Post —has a minority stake in the company.
Focus Media's shares were up 7 per cent, at 5.19 yuan. That was the highest they have traded since July 17, when they closed at 5.28 yuan.
— Georgina Lee 


Alibaba-backed Focus Media shares up to two-week high on in-line 1H profit

New China Life Insurance (1336 HK) is the top gainer on the H-share Hang Seng China Enterprises Index at the lunch break, trading up 3.38 per cent to HK$39.80, on news it expects its net income shot up in the first half of the year.
It China-traded shares (601336 CH) were up 2.9 per cent to 56.65 yuan. 
The company said in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that it expects its net income for the first half of the year increased about 80 per cent from a year ago, to 4.64 billion yuan. It attributed the improvement to a new rule announced in May that enables insurance companies to get a tax deduction on the commission expenses and fees incurred in the course of their operations.
New China Life is on track to close with five straight days of gains, and at its highest price since May 7, when it closed at HK$40.45.
Its A shares were the fourth most traded stock in turnover in Shanghai, at 1.43 billion yuan.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index is up 0.8 per cent at 28,223 points.
— Georgina Lee


New China Life Insurance leads gains in Hang Seng China Enterprise Index on first half profit improvement

Suzhou Harmontronics Automation rose 15.22 per cent to  67.82 yuan, as the top gainer of the 25-constituent Star Market, the new Nasdaq-style board where shares skyrocketed last week.
It develops automatic equipment whose technologies are used in vehicles, health care and lithium batteries. A total of 671.2 million shares changed hands.
Performances on the Star tech board are mixed today.
The first week, the stocks were allowed to trade without limits. Beginning Monday, they are allowed to trade a maximum up or down 20 per cent. 
Four stocks dropped, with  Beijing PIESAT Information Technology  (688066 CH)  down 0.1 per cent at 60.8 yuan, Micro-Tech (Nanjing)  (688029 CH) down 0.9 per cent at 127.9 yuan, Espressif Systems (Shanghai) (688018 CH) down 0.9 per cent at 160.43 yuan, and Fujian Forecam Optics (688010 CH) down 0.7 per cent at 72.09 yuan.
— Georgina Lee 


Suzhou Harmontronics Automation tops gains in Star tech board in Shanghai

Hong Kong developer Hang Lung Properties (101 HK), which owns the Fashion Walk shopping area in Causeway Bay and eight shopping centres in China, reported a 4 per cent fall in underlying profit for the six months ended June 30, citing “no property sales were recognized during the period”.
The underlying profit, which excludes revaluation gains in investment properties, dropped on year to HK$2.23 billion. Revenue plummeted 18 per cent on year to HK$4.2 billion.
The interim dividend is at 17 HK cents per share, remaining unchanged compared to the previous year.
"While the US-China trade dispute shows no sign of abating, we are cautiously optimistic that our business would continue to deliver sustainable growth in both Hong Kong and the Mainland.  The growth will be fueled by a number of key drivers," it said in its filing to the stock exchange.  
 
Its share price slid 0.43 per cent to HK$18.38 after the results were released.
— Lam Ka-sing


Hang Lung Properties reports 4 per cent fall in underlying profit in 1H

Texhong Textile Group (2678 HK), one of the largest cotton textile manufacturers in China, is trading down 2.2 per cent at HK$7.88 after saying it expects to see a 20 per cent to 25 per cent drop in its profit for the first half of 2019 primarily due to "macroeconomic uncertainties" caused by the trade war.
The company said in a stock filing Monday night that it adjusted its product mix and pricing following the US announcement that it was raising tariffs to 25 per cent from 10 per cent in May, but profitabilty for the second quarter was affected. The company said the second quarter is usually its peak season in the first half of the year.
The company had revenue of 16.3 billion yuan (US$2.37 billion) last year. 
"The Board noted that the market sentiment has gradually improved after the US has announced to halt the imposition of the additional tariff near the end of June 2019, which has been reflected by the fact of the increase in customers’ orders and product selling prices since then," the filing said.
"The Group will closely monitor the market situation and will continue to pursue its corporate strategy of optimizing its existing product mix, developing new products that cater for the trend and demand of the market in order to improve the financial performance of the Group. However, the Directors wish to emphasize that the performance of the Group can be affected by market environment, including cotton market price, the status of the SinoUS trade war and foreign exchange rate of Renminbi."
 
— Chad Bray and Deb Price 


Texhong Textile falls after warning it expects profits to drop 20-25 per cent due to trade war

So far, Hang Seng holding up amid protests

Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun Tech (300418 CH) rose 5.91 per cent after news it has revived plans for an initial public offering (IPO) of its gay dating app, Grindr.
In a filing to the stock exchange, Kunlun said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews national security implications of foreign investments, no longer opposes Grindr’s listing.
In May, Kunlun said it had agreed to a request from CFIUS to sell the dating app by June 2020. It also promised not to transfer sensitive data to China, and keep Grindr’s headquarters in the US.
The stock's jump was its biggest since May 15, the day after its agreement to CFUS' request was reported, when it gained 7.92 per cent.
—  Louise Moon


Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun Tech shoots up on revived IPO plan for Grindr

Trade talks in Shanghai that get under way today are less on Hong Kong investors' minds than the ongoing protests and the expected interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday Washington time, says Alan Li, portfolio manager at Atta Capital. 
"The Hong Kong market is more worried about the recent conflict between protesters and police," Li said. "After the press conference held by the state council yesterday, the central government is not likely get into this affair. But the local government seems to have lost control on both police and civil servants. ... Things are getting worse."
Li said investors don't expect much will come out of the trade talks going on today and Wednesday. "The US and China are not likely to compromise, in short," he said.
The market is waiting on the US Fed, which is expected to lower rates by a quarter of a percentage point.
— Deb Price 
 


Protests weighing on Hong Kong trading sentiment, says Alan Li of Atta Capital

China’s pig-linked stocks are down today, as a fresh report warns the pig herd in the world's largest pork market could by the end of 2019 be half of what it was a year earlier due to the deadly African swine fever epidemic.
The forecast by Rabobank paints a grimmer picture than what the China government has said, according to CNBC. The bank said the herd is down 40 per cent from a year ago, while the official estimates have been between 15 per cent to 26 per cent.
African swine fever is nearly always fatal to pigs, is highly contagious and has spread to every province in China. There is no cure.
Because so many pigs have been slaughtered, including as much as half of China's breeding pigs, the slaughtering and processing of pork meat has fallen.
Rabobank said it could take five years for production levels to return to what they were before the outbreak last August, according to the CNBC report.
The decline is weighing on pork-related shares.
A gauge tracking 28 of the related stocks in China was down 0.5 per cent.

Chuying Agro-pastoral Group (002477 CH) fell 4.9 per cent to 0.77 yuan; Shandong Delisi Food (002330 CH) dropped 2 per cent to 7.29 yuan, and Guangdong Guanghong Holdings (000529 CH) lost 2 per cent to 6.86 yuan. Guangdong Haid Group (002311 CH) bucked the trend and was up 5 .1 per cent at 29.99 yuan.
— Georgina Lee


China pig-linked shares down as report says production may not return to pre-swine fever levels for five years

Hong Kong homebuyers are having second thoughts about the biggest purchase of their lives, as nearly two months of unprecedented public unrest cast a pall over the city’s real-estate market.
Weekly transactions involving used homes fell to their lowest level this year on Sunday, according to one of the city’s largest real-estate agencies, while a dozen buyers last week decided against completing contracts for new homes worth more than HK$70 million (US$8.9 million), forfeiting more than HK$3.5 million in deposits and other fees rather than making purchases.
Deals at 35 major private estates dropped by 48.9 per cent week on week to just 23 transactions, according to Midland Realty.
Read full story here by Lam Ka-sing.


Hong Kong property transactions drop by 48 per cent to yearly low

Gold-related stocks rose in Hong Kong and were the top gaining industry.
The China Silver Group (815 HK) rose 9 per cent to 73 HK cents; Shandong Gold Mining (1787 HK) was up 1.1 per cent at HK$15.32, Zhaojing Ming (1818 HK) rose 1.3 per cent to HK$9.18, and Hengxing Gold (2303 HK) rose 2.1 per cent to HK$5.42.
In China,  Yantai Yuancheng Gold (600766 CH) jumped 6.6 per cent to 9.26 yuan, Yintai Resources (000975 CH) shot up 5.8 per cent to 15.05 yuan, Shandong Humon Smelting (002237 CH) was up 4.44 per cent 15.77 yuan, while Gansu Gangtai Holding (600687 CH) rose 4 per cent to 2.1 yuan.
Spot gold price dropped by 0.1 per cent to US$1424.51, slightly off the six-year peak reached on July 18 when it reached US$1,446.10.
The rally in gold since June has come amid more dovish stances by central banks, which fuelled expectations for rate cuts. Meanwhile, there has been a surge in negative-yielding assets globally, which increases the appeal of gold as a safe-haven asset. The Federal Reserve is expected to cut benchmark rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday overnight. Some traders in Asia see gold-related stocks as good proxy of the gold bull run.
— Georgina Lee 


 Gold-related stocks rise as US Fed rate decision nears

The start of trade talks between the US and China used to be a cause for celebration on the Hong Kong market months ago.
But this time, it's different, says Francis Lun, chief executive of Geo Securities.
"Hong Kong is consumed by internal conflict. Outside events don't matter as much," Lun said. "The city wallows in chaos."
The Hang Seng Index was up 0.6 per cent at one point in the morning, but saw its gains narrowing and was at 28,146.50 points, up 0.14 per cent.
The index could fall below 28,000 in the coming days due to a lack of buying interest including from institutional investors, Lun said. Two days of trade talks between the US and China got under way in Shanghai today.
"There is profit-taking and investors still don't have too much confidence in the market," he said. "Market response has been muted because nobody has any high hopes for the trade negotiation."
"The turnover is so low, nobody is buying ... because nothing's happening to support the market."
Well into its eighth week of extended large-scale protests, demonstrations against a now-sidelined extradition bill have grow into a wider anti-government movement calling for an independent investigation into alleged police corruption, among other demands.
On Monday, Beijing's top office on Hong Kong affairs held a news conference, affirming the central government's support for chief executive Carrie Lam and the city's police. While officials repeatedly called for Hong Kong to return to normalcy, they sidestepped questions on how Beijing planned to help that happen.
"We don't see any end to the demonstrations and conflicts in the society. We thought the Beijing office would have done some concrete measures. But nothing's happening, it will just get worse," Lun said.
— Daryl Choo 


Crystal Ball: Hang Seng could fall below 28,000 as Hong Kong 'wallows in chaos', says Francis Lun

A cartoon movie has come to the rescue of China’s media industry, which is struggling with sluggish box office numbers.
Just four days into its theatrical release, Ne Zha raked in 899 million yuan (US$130.6 million) in box office sales as of yesterday, Beijing Enlight Media (300251 CH) , a co-producer of the animation, said in an exchange statement at the trading break today.
Ne Zha, which is based on a household Chinese tale of how a human child turned into an immortal warrior, is now only a step away from Monkey King: Hero is back, China’s highest-grossing cartoon movie, with 967 million yuan in box office returns. Beijing Enlight has already derived as much as 243 million yuan in revenue from the movie, according to the statement.
Shares of Beijing Enlight rose 3.1 per cent to 8.66 yuan in Shenzhen today, adding to a 14 per cent gain this year.
— Zhang Shidong


Beijing Enlight jumps on its cartoon movie, which is huge hit in China

The Shanghai Composite Index got a lift from insurers, closing up 0.4 per cent at 2,952.34, its highest level since July 5.
China Life (601628 CH) was up 1.44 per cent, at 30.36 yuan, after it said its first half net profit probably increased between 115 per cent and 135 per cent, from a year earlier. It was the biggest index point gainer.
China Pacific Insurance (601601 CH) rose 2.46 per cent, at 39.55 yuan. New China Life Insurance (601336 CH) rose 2.83 per cent, also helped by a first half profit growth alert in which it said it expects its bottom line to rise by about 80 per cent.
Elsewhere, brokerages also performed well.
Citic Securities (600030 CH) up 1 per cent at 23.41 yuan and Hongta Securities (601236 CH) up 0.4 per cent at 14 yuan.
The CSI 300, which tracks blue chips on Shenzhen and Shanghai, rose 0.4 per cent to 3,870.32, with Focus Media Information Technology (002027 CH) surging 7.6 per cent to 5.21 yuan, as investors appeared to be relieved by its announcement that its net profit for the first half dropped 76.8 per cent, in line with its own expectation announced in April.
Ben Kwong Man-bun, a director at KGI Asia, said the Shanghai Composite Index will continue to hover in narrow range this week, at 2,900- 3,000.
“Investors are still watchful on any potential  outcome that could emanate from the US China trade negotiation in Shanghai. And the market is still trying to gauge whether China would also introduce further supportive monetary measures following the US Federal Reserve meeting Tuesday and Wednesday,” he said.
— Georgina Lee 


Shanghai benchmark hits three-week high, helped by insurers

The blue chip index recovered some lost ground from the previous session, edging up 0.1 per cent at 28,146.5.
But main board turnover dropped 10 per cent to HK$61.7 billion, its lowest in a week.
On Monday, the Hang Seng was weighed down by nearly two months of protests that have rocked the city. The demonstrations deteriorated over the weekend as clashes turned more violent after protesters ignored a police ban and staged protests in key districts of Hong Kong.
Performance of property developers was mixed today. But Wharf Real Estate Investment (1997 HK) was the top gainer on the Hang Seng, rising 2.5 per cent to HK$49.6. Others that were affected by concerns on weak retail and property market outlook on Monday also bounced back. The city’s rail operator MTR (66 HK), which is deeply involved in property development, went up 0.5 per cent to HK$52.35, while Sun Hung Kai Properties (16 HK) was up 0.5 per cent at HK$127.80.
The biggest index point gainers were China Life Insurance (2628 HK), which was up 1.5 per cent to HK$20.45, and index heavyweight Tencent (700 HK), which rose 0.3 per cent to HK$373.2. 
China Life said it expects its first half bottom line to grow between 115 per cent and 135 per cent from a year earlier.
— Georgina Lee 
