HK stocks rise as hopes of N.Korea talks offset China slowdown fears

Hang Lung Properties

09/03/2018 09:00

* Hang Seng index ends 1.1 pct higher
China Enterprises index HSCE rises 0.8 pct 
HSI financial sector sub-index up 0.9 pct
    * Property sector up 1 pct

    March 9 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks gained on Friday, as
optimism over the new entente between North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump offset concerns about
China's slower economic growth and the impact of U.S. tariffs. 
    
** The Hang Seng index  .HSI  rose 1.1 percent to 30,996.21
while the China Enterprises Index  .HSCE  gained 0.8 percent to
12,431.20 points.   

** Kim has committed to "denuclearisation" and offered to hold
the first-ever U.S.-North Korea summit, marking a potentially
dramatic breakthrough in the North Korea nuclear standoff. 
    
** Investors shrug off news that China's producer price
inflation eased to the slowest pace in 15 months in February,
pointing to a potential softening in industrial sector profits.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1QR1GG 

** People's Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan on Friday said
the country will rely less on stimulus to boost the economy in
the future.
  
**The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares  .HSCIE 
rose 0.9 percent while the IT sector  .HSCIIT  rose 1.19
percent, the financial sector  .HSNF  was 0.9 percent higher and
property sector rose 0.95 percent.
 
** The top gainer on Hang Seng was Sunny Optical Technology
Group Co Ltd  2382.HK  up 7.47 percent while the biggest loser
was Hang Lung Properties Ltd  0101.HK , down 0.95 percent.
 
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was firmer by 0.65 percent while Japan's Nikkei
index  .N225  closed up 0.47 percent.
 
 ** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 6.3348 per U.S. dollar at
08:22 GMT, 0.05 percent firmer than the previous close of
6.3378. 
 
** The top gainers among H-shares were PICC Property and
Casualty Co Ltd  2328.HK  up 3.87 percent, followed by Air China
Ltd  0753.HK , up 2.41 percent and People's Insurance Group of
China Co Ltd  1339.HK , up 2.37 percent.
 
** The three biggest H-shares percentage losers were CGN Power
Co Ltd  1816.HK , down 0.91 percent, Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd
 0489.HK , down 0.8 percent and Huaneng Power International Inc
 0902.HK , down 0.6 percent.
 
** About 1.52 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded,
roughly 55.7 percent of the market's 30-day moving average of
2.72 billion shares a day. The volume traded in the previous
trading session was 1.58 billion.
 
** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a
premium of 28.19 percent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares.
 
** The price-to-earnings ratio of the Hang Seng index was 13.2
as of the last full trading day while the dividend yield was 2.8
percent. 

 (Reporting by Samuel Shen and John Ruwitch; Editing by Vyas
Mohan)
 ((samuel.shen@thomsonreuters.com;  +86 21 6104 1789; Reuters
Messaging: samuel.shen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))