Many investors are waiting on Chinese gross domestic product (GDP) data due on Wednesday for clues on the health of Asia's giant economy, a major pressure point for global growth over the past year. Market expert expects China's first-quarter growth to have cooled to 6.3 per cent on-year, the weakest pace in at least 27 years, but a flurry of measures to boost domestic demand may have put a floor under slowing activity in March. The outlook for Asia critically hinges on the outlook of China's growth and the ongoing US-China trade talks. On both fronts, policymakers and investors believe that the outcome of these two issues is turning more positive.
Blue chips were mostly higher. HSBC (00005) gained 0.8% to HK$67.6. HKEX (00388) put on 1.3% to HK$278. Tencent (00700) advanced 1.4% to HK$393.6. China Mobile (00941) nudged up 0.4% to HK$76.6. AIA (01299) rose 1.1% to HK$80.9.
Handset components suppliers were mixed. Sunny Optical (02382) dipped 2.4% to HK$98.5. AAC Technologies (02018) also slipped 1.3% to HK$51.9. BYD Electronic (00285) shot up 4.6% to HK$12.34. FIH Mobile (02038) surged 14.6% to HK$1.1.
Chinese banks rebounded as the PBOC conducted RMB40 billion reverse repos after an 18-day moratorium. CCB (00939) gained 3.9% to HK$7.17. ICBC (01398) put on 3.1% to HK$6.03. BOC (03988) was up 2.7% to HK$3.81.
Insurers also saw strong buying interest. Ping An (02318) jumped 2.3% to HK$94.75 after Morgan Stanley's upgrade. China Life (02628) added 3.1% to HK$21.85. CPIC (02601) gained 2.8% to HK$32.85. PICC P&C (02328) rose 2.2% to HK$9.13.
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