Hong Kong shares end higher amid hopes for trade deal, China policy support

Techtronic Industries Co

11/03/2019 08:46

* Hang Seng index ends up 0.97 pct
    * China Enterprises index HSCE rises 1.08 pct 
    * HSI financial sector sub-index 1 pct higher; property
sector up
0.2 pct

    March 11 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares rebounded on Monday
after two straight sessions of losses amid cautious optimism
that China and the United States will work out a trade deal, and
as Chinese officials boosted investor hopes of policy support
for a slowing economy.
 
** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 274.88
points, or 0.97 percent, at 28,503.30, having lost 1.9 percent
on Friday. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index  .HSCE  rose
1.08 percent to 11,276.91.
 
** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares
 .HSCIE  rose 0.3 percent, the IT sector  .HSCIIT  gained 2.3
percent, the financial sector  .HSNF  ended 1.01 percent higher
and the property sector rose 0.17 percent.
 
** Gains were helped by cautious optimism among investors that
Washington and Beijing will hammer out a deal to eliminate
tariffs. A senior Chinese official said on Saturday that China
and the United States were still working day and night to
achieve a trade deal. But there remains little clarity on when
the leaders from the two countries can meet to seal any deals.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N20W02G urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N20V0M8
 
** Underscoring expectations that Beijing will continue to offer
policy support in a slowing economy, People's Bank of China
(PBOC) Governor Yi Gang said on Sunday that the central bank's
"prudent" monetary policy would emphasise counter-cyclical
adjustments, using a phrase that implies the need to fight an
economic slowdown. 
 
** Yi said there was still some room for the PBOC to cut reserve
requirement ratios, and that the bank would work on lowering
risk premiums that have kept lending rates for small firms
relatively elevated.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N20X06K 
 
** "The effectiveness of government policy stimulus has proven
to be better than what the market had expected, as shown in
Jan's bank lending and Total Social Financing growth, and also
in the improvement in Feb Caixin PMI ... and new orders/business
condition outlook of official PMI," analysts at Morgan Stanley
said in an note, noting that Chinese indexes, including the Hang
Seng, had outperformed in the year to date.
 
** The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Sino Biopharmaceutical
Ltd  1177.HK , which gained 6.25 percent, while the biggest
loser was Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd  0175.HK , which fell
1.56 percent.
 
** China's main Shanghai Composite index  .SSEC  closed up 1.92
percent at 3,026.99 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index
 .CSI300  ended up 1.98 percent.
 
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was firmer by 0.47 percent, while Japan's Nikkei
index  .N225  closed up 0.47 percent.
 
** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 6.7257 per U.S. dollar at
08:27 GMT, 0.08 percent weaker than the previous close of 6.72. 
 
** The top gainers among H-shares were Huatai Securities Co Ltd
 6886.HK , up 4.83 percent, followed by China Gas Holdings Ltd
 0384.HK , gaining 4.35 percent, and China Tower Corp Ltd
 0788.HK , up by 3.91 percent.
 
** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were China
National Building Material Co Ltd  3323.HK , which was down 1.09
percent, Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd  0489.HK , which fell 0.7
percent, and China Railway Group Ltd  0390.HK , down by 0.5
percent.

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