China, Hong Kong stocks firm as PBOC cuts key rate again

Want Want China Holdings

20/04/2020 05:53

* SSEC +0.3%, CSI300 +0.2%, HSI +0.2%
    * HK->Shanghai Connect daily quota used -0.9%, Shanghai->HK
daily
quota used 3.2%
    * FTSE China A50 +0.2%

    SHANGHAI, April 20(Reuters) - China and Hong Kong stocks
firmed on Monday, as the country's central bank cut a key rate
for the second time this year to shore up the coronavirus-hit
economy.
    ** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index  .SSEC 
was up 0.3% at 2,847.13 points. 
    ** China's blue-chip CSI300 index  .CSI300  was up 0.22%,
with its financial sector sub-index  .CSI300FS  higher by 0.21%,
the consumer staples sector  .CSI000912  up 0.07%, the real
estate index  .CSI000952  down 0.8% and the healthcare sub-index
 .CSI300HC  up 0.78%.
    ** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong  .HSCE  rose 0.52%
to 9,865.97, while the Hang Seng Index  .HSI  was up 0.16% at
24,419.99. 
    ** The smaller Shenzhen index  .SZSC  was up 0.65% and the
start-up board ChiNext Composite index  .CNT  was higher by
0.96%.
    ** The People's Bank of China cut its benchmark lending rate
as expected to reduce borrowing costs for companies and prop up
the economy, after it contracted for the first time in decades.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2C80RP 
    ** "The asymmetric cut suggests that authorities will stick
to the tight housing policy. It will not be deemed as a tool to
stimulate domestic demand, even at this difficult time," said
Xing Zhaopeng, markets economist at ANZ in Shanghai.  
    ** China reported 12 new confirmed coronavirus cases on
April 19, down from 16 a day earlier, with no new deaths, the
country's health authority said.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nB9N2AJ01I  
    ** The Shanghai Stock Exchange said it would resume the
normal display of cross-exchange indexes "as soon as possible"
after the indexes earlier exhibited abnormal behaviour. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nB9N2BK004  
    ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was weaker by 0.15%, while Japan's Nikkei index
 .N225  was down 0.76%.  MKTS/GLOB  
    ** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 7.0758 per U.S. dollar,
0.05% weaker than the previous close of 7.0725.

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