Hong Kong shares rose 2.1 percent on Thursday, reclaiming some lost ground from the previous session, on the back of supportive comments from the US Federal Reserve and positive earnings momentum. Chinese stocks rose 0.9 percent in shrinking turnover on Thursday.
Managing to bounce from a five-week intraday low early in the session, with metal and banking shares strong after policymakers moved to ease fears of credit policy tightening. Central bank chief Zhou Xiaochuan said late on Wednesday that the bank's recent references to "dynamic fine-tuning" did not point to a change in its stance, as China had been fine-tuning its monetary policy for years.
China Construction Bank jumped 5.7 percent to 6.08 yuan in Shanghai, while Bank of China jumped 3.5 percent to HK$3.85. A clampdown in bank lending in July and central bank statements on fine-tuning its loose monetary policy fuelled worries about a tightening of the ample market liquidity that helped to propel this year's rally of more than 90 percent in the benchmark index.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index finished up 426.06 points at 20,861.30. But turnover fell to HK$69 billion from HK$75.1 billion in the previous session. "Investors are not comfortable with the speed of the decline in the A-share market. And seeing that the market is moving in a very volatile range, investors don't see any point in being agressive at this point," said Alex Wong, director with Ample Finance Group.
The China Enterprises Index, which represents top locally listed mainland Chinese stocks, was up 2.1 percent at 11,900.15. A flurry of forecast-beating earnings and healthier profit outlooks from top companies propped up blue chip stocks.
Tencent Holdings, operator of China's largest instant messaging platform, jumped 4.3 percent on Thursday after its quarterly net profit beat analysts' expectations, on the back of strong growth in its internet services. The stock scaled an all-time high of HK$122.70 earlier in the session. Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEx) rose 3 percent to HK$150.30 as analysts cheered the modest rise in the bourse operator's second-quarter net profit, on the back of improving trading volumes and increased capital raising activity.
Goldman Sachs increased its target price on the world's largest exchange operator by market value to HK$200 from HK$124 based on its increased GDP growth expectations for China and reflecting a potential Greater China capital markets convergence. Ports-to-telecoms conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa rose percent after posting a smaller-than-expected 33 percent drop in its first half-profit as losses at its 3G mobile phone business narrowed.
But Hutchison Telecommunications International dropped 9.1 percent after the company sold its stake in Israeli telecom operator Partner for $1.38 billion in a bid to offset losses elsewhere. HSBC downgraded the stock to "underweight" from "overweight" on uncertainties surrounding the Partner deal, including doubts about the payment of a special dividend to investors.
SHANGHAI SHARES LAG The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 27.841 points at 3,140.560, after falling 4.66 percent the previous day. Analysts were not impressed, however, by Thursday's recovery in low turnover.
"The view towards the economic recovery is mixed," said Stockfly Securities analyst Chen Shaodan. "The (market's) rebound is too mild without active turnover to indicate more room on the upside, although 3,000 points is a strong support level." Li Nian, assistant general manager at Shenyin and Wanguo Securities' research unit, added: "Most investors are taking a wait-and-see stance. The index is expected to remain in a consolidation phase in the short term."
Gaining Shanghai A shares outnumbered losers by 490 to 432, while turnover for Shanghai A shares dropped to 138.2 billion yuan ($20.2 billion) from Wednesday's 157.1 billion yuan. J.P. Morgan said on Wednesday that China's stock market would resume its rally after a short-term consolidation, which would last a bit longer. Metal shares gained, with Jiangxi Copper rising 8.6 percent to 42.73 yuan, after sliding 7.4 percent on Wednesday. Shanghai copper futures prices jumped their daily limit after the metal's price rose on the LME.
Coal shares were also strong with oil prices firm, with Shenhua Energy up 1.4 percent at 35.37 yuan. Yunnan Aluminium rose 5.4 percent to 14.49 yuan after the official China Securities Journal reported that its parent Yunnan Metallurgical Group had agreed to take over Alcoa Inc's subsidiary in Shanghai.
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