Hong Kong shares ended 0.54 percent higher on Wednesday as its government predicted strong growth rates for 2014 and as bargain-hunting offset a weak set of US indicators. The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 120.24 points to close at 22,437.44 on turnover of HK$63.80 billion (US $8.23 billion).
The market was buoyed by comments from Hong Kong's Financial Secretary John Tsang that the southern Chinese city's economy is expected to grow by as much as four percent this year compared to 2.9 percent in 2013. The gains came in line with a broad upturn in Asia, with traders picking up cheap stocks after the index fell about one percent in the previous two sessions.
Losses on Wall Street came after downbeat housing and consumer data. The Case-Shiller index for home prices in 20 leading US cities fell 0.1 percent in December, the second straight decline, while the Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 78.1 in February from 79.4 in January. On Wall Street the Dow slipped 0.17 percent, the S&P 500 fell 0.13 percent and the Nasdaq lost 0.13 percent Tuesday. Attention, however, is on the release of October-December growth estimates Friday. Economists hope the results will give them a better handle on the state of the economy.
Internet firm Tencent rose 1.82 percent to HK$586.0, HSBC eased 0.61 percent to HK$81.15 and Casino giant Sands China jumped 2.74 percent to HK$63.75. Cathay Pacific Airways edged down 0.39 percent to HK$15.14 and energy firm CNOOC gained 0.64 percent to HK$12.54. New World Development was unchanged at HK$9.67. Chinese shares closed up 0.35 percent on bargain-hunting following steep losses in the previous session on worries over the property market, dealers said.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 7.03 points to 2,041.25 on turnover of 96.1 billion yuan ($15.7 billion). The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, rose 0.51 percent, or 5.51 points, to 1,094.73 on turnover of 140.8 billion yuan.
"It's a technical rebound after losses (Tuesday) triggered by a slew of negative news including possible tightening of property loans and yuan depreciation," Central China Securities analyst Zhang Gang told AFP. "It might take some time for the market to recover," he added. The depreciation of China's yuan currency in recent days has also sparked worries over outflows of cash from the country, but analysts say the move may have been engineered by the central bank to control speculative funds betting on continued appreciation.
Metal firms and cement producers led the gains in Shanghai. Shandong Gold Mining surged by its 10 percent daily limit to 18.24 yuan while Yunnan Tin jumped 8.84 percent to 12.43 yuan. Fujian Cement gained 5.43 percent to 6.79 yuan and Xishui Strong Year rose 3.14 percent to 9.53 yuan.
Comments
Comments are closed.