Hong Kong shares end higher on China reserves requirement cut, dovish Fed

Hengan International

07/01/2019 08:39

* Hang Seng index ends up 0.82 pct
    * China Enterprises index HSCE rises 0.94 pct
    * HSI financial sector sub-index flat; property sector up
1.2 pct

    Jan 7 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares ended higher on Monday
after China's central bank cut banks' reserve requirements to
boost the economy, and after the head of the U.S. Federal
Reserve moved to ease market concerns over the Fed's response to
slowing growth.
** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 0.82
percent at 25,835.70. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index
 .HSCE  rose 0.94 percent to 10,123.85.
 
** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares
 .HSCIE  rose 1.9 percent, while the IT sector  .HSCIIT  rose
2.08 percent, the financial sector  .HSNF  ended 0.45 percent
higher and the property sector rose 1.22 percent.
 
** The People's Bank of China said on Friday it was cutting the
amount of cash that banks have to hold as reserves for the fifth
time in a year, freeing up $116 billion for new lending as it
tries to reduce the risk of a sharp economic slowdown. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1VF3KG
 
** Also on Friday, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
sought to ease market concerns that the U.S. central bank was
ignoring signs of an economic slowdown, saying he was aware of
the risks and would be patient and flexible in policy decisions
this year.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1Z41A1 Jobs data released Friday highlighted
continued strength in the U.S. economy.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nUSN4CEFP2
 
** The top gainer on the Hang Seng was WH Group Ltd  0288.HK ,
which rose 3.25 percent, while the biggest loser was Geely
Automobile Holdings Ltd  0175.HK , which fell 3.03 percent.
 
** China's main Shanghai Composite index  .SSEC  closed up 0.72
percent at 2,533.09, while the blue-chip CSI300 index  .CSI300 
ended up 0.61 percent.
 
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was firmer by 1.33 percent, while Japan's Nikkei
index  .N225  closed up 2.44 percent.
 
** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 6.8503 per U.S. dollar at
08:24 GMT, 0.3 percent firmer than the previous close of 6.871.
The currency strengthened to a one-month high against the dollar
on Monday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1Z71SB
 
** The top gainers among H-shares were Air China Ltd  0753.HK 
up 5.93 percent, followed by Huatai Securities Co Ltd  6886.HK ,
gaining 4.07 percent and Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd  0489.HK ,
up by 3.54 percent.
 
** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were New
China Life Insurance Co Ltd  1336.HK , which was down 7.57
percent, Shenzhou International Group Holdings Ltd  2313.HK ,
which fell 1.8 percent and Hengan International Group Company
Ltd  1044.HK , down by 0.6 percent.
 
** About 1.49 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded,
roughly 102.1 percent of the market's 30-day moving average of
1.46 billion shares a day. The volume traded in the previous
trading session was 1.76 billion.

 (Reporting by Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
 ((Andrew.Galbraith@tr.com; +86 21 6104 1779; Reuters Messaging:
andrew.galbraith.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net ; Twitter: https://twitter.com/apgalbraith))