SHANGHAI: China stocks edged up on Tuesday, while Hong Kong shares bounced from two-month lows earlier in the day as US President-elect Donald Trump’s fresh tariff vows against China, which were largely anticipated, may prompt stronger stimulus from Beijing.
China, HK stocks close higher after PBOC begins swap programme
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China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index were both up 0.4% by the lunch break. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index added 0.5%.
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Donald Trump said he would impose a 25% tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China.
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Although Trump’s threats triggered falls in Asian markets such as Japan, market participants in China appeared unfazed and awaited more policy stimulus to lift domestic economy.
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Yang Tingwu, vice general manager of asset manager Tongheng Investment, said that an initial 10% tariff hike against China “is milder than we expected, so the news is positive”.
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During his election campaign, Trump had said he would impose tariffs of 60% or more on goods from China.
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Having experienced a trade war with the US in Trump’s first term, “China already has a playbook to deal with tariffs,” said Simon Yu, vice general manager at Panyao Asset Management.
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Trump’s protectionist policies may prod China to “accelerate the process of self-reliance and import substitution.”
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Property and consumer-related shares led gains in onshore market, adding 2.1% and 1.1%, respectively.
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“Long-only funds and hedge funds have been selling Chinese equities for the past two weeks and the outflow may slow or even reverse now that there’s more clarity,” said Jason Chan, senior investment strategist at Bank of East Asia.
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“Sectors that are proxies for domestic consumption and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are seeing inflows today.”
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An index tracking Chinese electric vehicles makers dropped 2.3%, after European Union officials said there were still stumbling blocks that prevented a deal with China to resolve trade disputes, disappointing investors.
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