Hong Kong stocks log 7th weekly gain on China data, trade deal

Hengan International

17/01/2020 08:26

* HK->Shanghai Connect daily quota used 5.2%, Shanghai->HK
daily
quota used 1.6%
    * HSI +0.6%, HSCE +0.8%, CSI300 +0.1%
    * FTSE China A50 +0.1%

    Jan 17 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks rose on Friday and
posted their seventh straight weekly gain, as investors cheered
signs of economic recovery on the mainland as well as the
signing of a Sino-U.S. trade deal earlier this week.
    ** The Hang Seng index  .HSI  climbed 0.6%, to 29,056.42,
while the China Enterprises Index  .HSCE  gained 0.8%, to
11,419.91.   
    ** For the week, HSI was up 1.5%, while HSCE climbed 1.4%,
both up for the seventh week in a row. 
    ** China's economic growth slowed to its weakest in nearly
30 years in 2019 amid the bruising trade war and sputtering
investment, and more stimulus steps are expected this year to
help avert a sharper slowdown.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N29M0E9 
    ** But data also showed the world's second-largest economy
ended the year on a firmer note as trade tensions eased,
suggesting a raft of growth-boosting measures over the past two
years may finally be starting to take hold. 
    ** Analysts and investors believe more signs of modest
recovery in China's economy would help bolster confidence in
capital markets. 
    ** Strong gains on Wall Street following the signing of the
trade deal also helped boost risk appetite in the Asian
financial hub, which is closely linked with U.S. markets. 
    ** China will boost purchases of U.S. goods and services by
$200 billion over two years in exchange for the rolling back of
some tariffs under the initial trade deal.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N29L033 
    ** The principle that ensures Hong Kong enjoys freedoms
unavailable in mainland China can continue beyond its 2047
expiry date as long as the city's youngsters do not destroy it
with "temporary misunderstandings," Chief Executive Carrie Lam
said on Thursday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N29L1RW  
    ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was firmer by 0.37%, while Japan's Nikkei index
 .N225  closed up 0.45%.
    ** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 6.8625 per U.S. dollar
at 08:10 GMT, 0.25% firmer than the previous close of 6.88. 
    ** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of
25.03% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.

 (Reporting by Luoyan Liu and Andrew Galbraith; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((luoyan.liu@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
luoyan.liu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))