Hong Kong stocks gained ahead of trade data that is likely to show more signs of recovery in the Chinese economy, while sentiment was also driven by hopes the US Federal Reserve could start cutting rates this year following a weak US May private payrolls report overnight
The Hang Seng Index added 0.3 per cent to close at 18,476.80 on Thursday, after gaining as much as 1.5 per cent earlier in the day. The Tech Index jumped 0.9 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.5 per cent.
HSBC gained 0.6 per cent to HK$68.50 and developer Sun Hung Kai Properties climbed 0.7 per cent to HK$75. China’s largest chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) jumped 5.6 per cent to HK$18.06 amid a global chip stocks’ frenzy. Online travel agency Trip.com climbed 1.8 per cent to HK$407.40, rebounding from lows struck after its convertible bonds sales plan.
A government report on Friday is expected to show China’s exports expanded by 5.7 per cent in May, a faster pace compared with the 1.5 per cent growth in April, according to estimates in a Bloomberg poll.
A drone photo shows machinery at a port in Lianyungang City, east China’s Jiangsu Province. A government report on Friday is expected to show China’s exports expanded by 5.7 per cent in May. Photo: Xinhua
“Macro data is likely to show more consistent improvements in the coming months as the previous policy support measures start to come through, so I don’t think there could be much downside surprise on this front,” said Jason Chan, senior investment strategist at Bank of East Asia. Meanwhile, the market is more confident about interest rate cuts in the US following soft labour market data and this has fuelled risk appetite, he added.
Adding to the optisim, the battered property market has shown some signs of a revival as Country Garden followed Vanke in reporting better sales on the heels of Beijing’s stimulus package.
The Hang Seng Index has gained 2.2 per cent so far this week, and could end the two-week losing streak amid more signs of recovery in the battered property market and growing US rate cut bets. Diversification and investment in China is desirable despite the geopolitical risks as Chinese assets are still relatively cheap, Ray Dalio said on Wednesday.
Other key Asian markets advanced after S&P 500 hit new highs overnight. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.6 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.7 per cent.
Denial of responsibility! Chronicles Live is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials, please contact us by email – chronicleslive.com. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
