Hong Kong stocks climb on China stimulus, drop in coronavirus cases

Want Want China Holdings

07/04/2020 10:14

* HK->Shanghai Connect daily quota used 13.8%
    * Shanghai Connect->HK daily quota used 2.6%
    * HSI +2.1%, HSCE +2.0%, CSI300 +2.3%
    * FTSE China A50 +1.8%

    SHANGHAI, April 7 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks closed more
than 2% higher on Tuesday, in line with mainland gains, after
Beijing's latest economic stimulus and a fall in cases of the
new coronavirus.
    ** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index  .HSI  was up
504.17 points, or 2.12%, at 24,253.29. The Hang Seng China
Enterprises index  .HSCE  rose 2.02% to 9,846.92.
    ** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares
 .HSCIE  rose 0.7%, while the IT sector  .HSCIIT  rose 1.86%,
the financial sector  .HSNF  ended 1.87% higher and the property
sector rose 2.24%.
    ** The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Galaxy Entertainment
Group Ltd  0027.HK , which gained 7.35%, while the biggest loser
was Hang Seng Bank Ltd  0011.HK , which fell 1.01%.
    ** China's main Shanghai Composite index  .SSEC  closed up
2.05% at 2,820.76 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index
 .CSI300  ended up 2.28%.   
    ** China's central bank said on Friday it was cutting the
amount of cash that small banks must hold in reserve, releasing
around 400 billion yuan ($56 billion) in liquidity to shore up
an economy jolted by the coronavirus outbreak.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2BQ0ZP 
    ** The benchmark Hang Seng index may start to stabilize for
now, as the PBOC's move is expected to substantially lift market
sentiment, analysts at Guodu Hong Kong said in report. 
    ** Also helping provide some support were tentative signs
the coronavirus crisis may be levelling off in New York and
receding in Europe.
    ** The United States is bracing for its toughest week yet as
the death toll climbs above 10,000 while across the Atlantic,
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has entered intensive care
after his COVID-19 symptoms worsened.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2BU0KY 
    ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index
 .MIAPJ0000PUS  was firmer by 2.38%, while Japan's Nikkei index
 .N225  closed up 2.01%.
    ** The yuan  CNY=CFXS  was quoted at 7.0585 per U.S. dollar
at 08:18 GMT, 0.5% firmer than the previous close of 7.0938. 
    ** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of
25.86% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.

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