Hong Kong stocks close at 3-week high on upbeat China data

China Feihe

10/02/2021 08:33

* HK->Shanghai Connect daily quota used -1.5%, Shanghai->HK
daily
quota used 0%
    * HSI +1.9%, HSCE +1.8%, CSI300 +2.1%
    * FTSE China A50 +2.5%

    Feb 10 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks rise on Wednesday to end
at a three-week high, after upbeat data pointed to a continued
recovery in China's economy.
    ** The Hang Seng index  .HSI  rose 1.9%, to 30,038.72, while
the China Enterprises Index  .HSCE  gained 1.8% to 11,810.25
points.   
    ** China's factory gate prices rose in annual terms in
January for the first time in a year, as months of strong
manufacturing growth pushed raw material costs higher. The
producer price index rose 0.3% from a year earlier, the fastest
pace of increase since May 2019.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2KG037 
    ** Also helping sentiment, worries eased of an abrupt policy
shift amid recent tight liquidity conditions, after the latest
lending data.  
    ** China's new bank loans leapt to new highs in January,
boosted by seasonal demand, while broad credit growth slowed, as
the central bank walks a tightrope between supporting a
recovering economy and rising debt risks.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2KF160  
    ** Tech players, usually sensitive to changes in liquidity
conditions, gained, with the Hang Seng tech index  .HSTECH 
rising 2.5%. 
    ** China's monetary policy has gradually returned to normal,
leaving interbank interest rates at relatively high levels,
which could help benefit Chinese banking shares, KGI Securities
noted in a report. 
    ** However, the brokerage added as China's Lunar New Year
holiday approached, turnover declined in both the A-share market
and Hong Kong market, and the Hang Seng index faced technical
resistance around the 30,000-point level.  
    ** The Hang Seng financial index  .HSCIF  gained 1.8%,
leading the rally on Wednesday.   
    ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was firmer by 0.57%, while Japan's Nikkei index
 .N225  closed up 0.19%.
    ** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 6.4386 per U.S. dollar
at 08:20 GMT, 0.07% weaker than the previous close of 6.4342. 
    ** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of
36.99% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.

 (Reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Krishna Chandra
Eluri)
 ((luoyan.liu@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
luoyan.liu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))