Hong Kong stocks end week higher, tracking global rally

Shenzhou International group

27/03/2020 08:55

* HK->Shanghai Connect daily quota used 5.6%, Shanghai->HK
daily
quota used 2.9%
    * HSI +0.1%, HSCE +0.1%, CSI300 +0.3%
    * FTSE China A50 +0.5%

    March 27 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks rose on Friday to
finish the week higher, joining a global rally as investors bet
policymakers will roll out more measures to counter the economic
impact of the coronavirus outbreak. 
    ** The Hang Seng index  .HSI  rose 0.1%, to 23,369.44, while
the China Enterprises Index  .HSCE  gained 0.1%, to 9,456.51.   
    ** For the week, HSI climbed 3% and HSCE gained 4.2%, both
snapping a two-week sell-off.  
    ** Leaders of the Group of 20 major economies pledged on
Thursday to inject over $5 trillion into the global economy to
limit job and income losses from the coronavirus and "do
whatever it takes to overcome the pandemic."  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2BJ5W5 
    ** In China, the latest dismal economic readings also
reinforced hopes that Beijing would roll out more monetary and
fiscal measures to bolster its economy.
    ** Profits at China's industrial firms slumped in the first
two months of the year to their lowest in at least a decade,
with the mining, manufacturing and power sectors all seeing
sharp falls as the virus outbreak battered the economy.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2BK0JO 
    ** "The profit outlook will remain bleak before new stimulus
to aggregate demand," said Xing Zhaopeng, markets economist at
ANZ in Shanghai. "The worldwide lockdowns will continue to weigh
on the economy."
    ** Mainland China reported its first locally transmitted
coronavirus case in three days and 54 new imported cases, as
Beijing ordered airlines to sharply cut international flights
fearing travellers could reignite the outbreak.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2BK068 
    ** China on Thursday ordered local airlines to maintain only
one route to any country and limit flights per such routes to
one per week, effective March 29. Foreign airlines have also
been ordered to cut routes to China to one and limit flights to
one per week, although many had already stopped flying to the
country.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2BJ03R  
    ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was weaker by 0.09%, while Japan's Nikkei index
 .N225  closed up 3.88%.
    ** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 7.0895 per U.S. dollar
at 08:32 GMT, 0.28% weaker than the previous close of 7.07. 
    ** The top gainers among H-shares were Shenzhou
International Group Holdings Ltd  2313.HK , up 4.28%, followed
by China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd  1088.HK , gaining 4.21%, and
Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd  2007.HK , up by 3.3%.
    ** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were
China Taiping Insurance Holdings Co Ltd  0966.HK , which was
down 4.93%, Hengan International Group Company Ltd  1044.HK ,
which fell 2.73%, and New China Life Insurance Co Ltd  1336.HK ,
down by 2.51%.
    ** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of
28.34% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.

 (Reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Subhranshu
Sahu)
 ((luoyan.liu@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
luoyan.liu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))