China, HK stocks firm as trade optimism lifts sentiment; tech rallies

Hengan International

28/10/2019 04:51

* SSEC 0.7%, CSI300 0.7%, HSI 1.2%
    * U.S., China say they are "close to finalizing" part of a
Phase
One trade deal 
    * China passes cryptography law, gears up for digital
currency

    SHANGHAI, Oct 28 (Reuters) - China and Hong Kong stocks
rallied on Monday, underpinned by gains in tech heavyweights
after Beijing pledged more support for the sector, amid hopes
that Sino-U.S. negotiators were making headway in their trade
talks.
    
    ** The CSI300 index  .CSI300  was up 0.7% at 3,924.66
points, at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai
Composite Index  .SSEC  gained 0.7% to 2,976.22 points. 
    ** The Hang Seng index  .HSI  added 1.2% to 26,983.82
points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index  .HSCE 
gained 1% to 10,569.76 points.
    ** U.S. and Chinese officials are "close to finalizing" some
parts of a trade agreement after high-level telephone
discussions on Friday, the U.S. Trade Representative's office
and China's Commerce Ministry said, with talks to continue. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N27A0U9 
    ** Washington and Beijing are working to agree on the text
for a "Phase 1" trade agreement announced by U.S. President
Donald Trump on Oct. 11. Trump has said he hopes to sign the
deal with China's President Xi Jinping next month at a summit in
Chile.
    ** Beijing is attaching more importance to the country's
tech sector and vowed to seek tech self-sufficiency as many
giants, including Huawei  HWT.UL , were blacklisted amid a
bruising Sino-U.S. trade war.   
    ** China's largely rubber stamp parliament has passed a new
law on cryptography as the country gears up to launch its own
digital currency, state media reported late on Saturday. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N27C00C 
    ** Tech firms led the gains with blockchain-related stocks
surging after the new law was passed.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N27D0IZ 
    ** On the mainland, the CSI IT index  .CSIINT  jumped 3.5%,
while the Hang Seng IT index  .HSCIIT  climbed 2.4% in Hong
Kong.
    ** China is studying the application of blockchain and
artificial intelligence in cross-border financing with a focus
on risk management, and will further liberalise its capital
markets, a senior foreign exchange regulator said on Sunday.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N27C02X 
    ** The central government's emphasis on blockchain
technology again confirmed the starting point of China's new
tech cycle, China Merchants Securities noted in a report.
    ** Proactively embracing new technology is a prerequisite to
seize the initiative in future global tech industries, while
China's support would be unprecedented given the urgent need for
independent innovation and potential evolution in world's
financial landscape, China Merchants Securities added. 
    ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was firmer by 0.50%, while Japan's Nikkei index
 .N225  was up 0.28%.
    ** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 7.059 per U.S. dollar,
0.08% firmer than the previous close of 7.0647. 
    ** So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is up 18.49%,
while China's H-share index is up 3.4%. Shanghai stocks rose
1.71% this month. 
    ** As of 0417 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a
premium of 29.29% over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares.

 (Reporting by Luoyan Liu and John Ruwitch, Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)
 ((luoyan.liu@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
luoyan.liu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))