HK stocks see best session in two months on China's rate reform

SHANGHAI: Hong Kong stocks climbed more than 2% on Monday amid a broad upbeat investor mood, posting their best session in two months, bolstered by Beijing's reforms to help steer borrowing costs lower for companies and support businesses.

** Hopes major economies will seek to prop up slowing growth with fresh stimulus have helped ease some of the recessionary fears unleashed in markets last week.

** The Hang Seng index ended up 2.2% at 26,291.84, while the China Enterprises Index gained 1.5% at 10,109.15.

** Both indexes were up for a fourth session in a row.

** China's central bank - the People's Bank of China - unveiled a key interest rate reform on Saturday to help steer borrowing costs lower for companies and support a slowing economy that has been hurt by the trade war with the United States.

** The move, widely seen as a guided rate cut, came after Beijing's latest plan to spur private consumption to shore up growth.

** That also followed Hong Kong government's announcement of a HK$19.1 billion ($2.44 billion) package on Thursday to support a slowing economy hurt by protests and protracted Sino-U.S. trade spat.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index  was firmer by 1.09%, while Japan's Nikkei index  closed 0.71% firmer.

** The yuan was quoted at 7.0446 per U.S. dollar at 0819 GMT, 0.04% weaker than the previous close of 7.042.

** The top gainers among H-shares were Haitong Securities Co Ltd , which closed up 6.41%, followed by Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd, which ended 6.03% firmer and CITIC Securities Co Ltd, which closed up by 5.87%.

** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were ENN Energy Holdings Ltd, which ended down 5.21%, China Telecom Corp Ltd, which closed 1.67% lower and China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd, down by 1.40%.

** About 2.14 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded, roughly 144.3% of the market's 30-day moving average of 1.49 billion shares a day. The volume traded in the previous trading session was 2.02 billion.

** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 31.14% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.