Hong Kong shares rise on China policy support
04/02/2020 09:02
* Hang Seng rises 1.2%, H-shares up 1.6%
* China's central bank calms nerves, pumps cash
* Coronavirus claims first life in Hong Kong
HONG KONG, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks climbed for a
second straight session on Tuesday, as measures by China's
central bank calmed investors concerned about the rapidly
spreading coronavirus outbreak.
** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index .HSI was up 1.2%
at 26,675.98. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index .HSCE rose
1.6%.
** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares
.HSCIE rose 1.3%, the IT sector .HSCIIT gained 3.4%, and the
property sector .HSNP was 1.5% higher.
** China's central bank said on Tuesday that its huge liquidity
injections through open market operations this week showed its
determination to stabilise financial market expectations and
restore market confidence. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nB9N29N00J
** The People's Bank of China (PBOC) injected 1.2 trillion yuan
($173.81 billion) into money markets through reverse bond
repurchase agreements. It also unexpectedly cut the interest
rate on those short-term funding facilities by 10 basis
points. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nB9N29N00A
** Analysts said they believe more supportive measures would be
rolled out to support the economy if the hit from the virus
outbreak deepens.
** "Authorities can't prop up markets indefinitely but traders
for now are taking the cue to buy the dip," Jasper Lawler, head
of research at London Capital Group, said of Asian markets in a
note.
** Hong Kong reported its first death from the newly identified
coronavirus, the second outside mainland China from an outbreak
that has killed more than 420 people, spread around the world
and raised fears for global economic growth. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2A401C
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
.MIAPJ0000PUS was firmer by 1.7%, while Japan's Nikkei index
.N225 closed up 0.5%.
** China's stock market rallied on the PBOC's policy support,
regaining some ground after the Shanghai benchmark lost almost
$400 billion in market value on Monday. .SS
** About 2.50 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded. The
volume traded in the previous trading session was 2.42 billion.
(Reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu)
((luoyan.liu@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
luoyan.liu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))