Hong Kong shares rise as U.S. Fed comments lift rate cut hopes

Techtronic Industries Co

05/06/2019 09:34

* Hang Seng index ends up 0.5%
    * China Enterprises index HSCE rises 0.04% 
    * HSI financial sector sub-index up 0.7%; property sector up
0.7%

    June 5 (Reuters) - Shares in Hong Kong ended higher on
Wednesday as comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve raised
investor hopes for an interest rate cut this year.
** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index  .HSI  was up
133.92 points, or 0.5%, at 26,895.44. The Hang Seng China
Enterprises index  .HSCE  rose 0.04% to 10,345.05.
 
** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares
 .HSCIE  dipped 1.4% as oil prices fell, while the IT sector
 .HSCIIT  rose 1.42%, the financial sector  .HSNF  ended 0.71%
higher and the property sector rose 0.65%.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N23C0K2
 
** U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Tuesday
the Fed would respond "as appropriate" to the risks posed by a
global trade war and other recent developments, comments
investors interpreted as a nod to easier policy.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N23B0CV
 
** The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Techtronic Industries Co
Ltd  0669.HK , which gained 3.92%, while the biggest loser was
Sino Biopharmaceutical Ltd  1177.HK , which fell 8.40%.
 
** China's main Shanghai Composite index  .SSEC  closed down
0.03% at 2,861.42 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index
 .CSI300  ended down 0.04%. Healthcare firms weighed on the
indexes after a notice on the website of China's Ministry of
Finance said the country will carry quality checks on accounting
information in the pharmaceuticals industry.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nZZN2RLI00
 
** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was firmer by 0.44%, while Japan's Nikkei index
 .N225  closed up 1.8%.
 
** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 6.9101 per U.S. dollar at
08:24 GMT, 0.03% weaker than the previous close of 6.9083. 
 
** The top gainers among H-shares were China Tower Corp Ltd
 0788.HK , up 4.74%, followed by Great Wall Motor Co Ltd
 2333.HK , gaining 3.37%, and China National Building Material
Co Ltd  3323.HK , up by 2.9%.
 
** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were CSPC
Pharmaceutical Group Ltd  1093.HK , which was down 4.80%,
Huaneng Power International Inc  0902.HK , which fell 1.8%, and
CRRC Corp Ltd  1766.HK , down by 1.4%.

 (Reporting by Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((Andrew.Galbraith@tr.com; +86 21 2083 0079; Reuters Messaging:
andrew.galbraith.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net ; Twitter: https://twitter.com/apgalbraith))