Hong Kong Market rises for the first five days

Hong Kong share market closed higher in extremely quiet trade on Friday, 24 May 2019, as investors chased for bottom fishing on recently battered stocks after the benchmark indices nearly 680 points drop over the previous four days this week. At closing bell, the Hang Seng Index inclined 0.32%, or 86.80 points, to 27,353.93. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index was up 0.43%, or 44.43 points, to 10,445.54. Turnover decreased to HK$76 billion on Friday from HK$99 billion on Thursday.

Market risk sentiments stabilized after a series of comments by China central bank officials this week. China has ample policy tools to cope with yuan fluctuations and the country is able to keep the currency basically stable, central bank vice governor Liu Guoqiang said on Thursday.

 

Washington last week effectively banned U.S. firms from doing business with Huawei, the world's largest networking gear maker, citing national security concerns. The U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday it was proposing a new rule to impose anti-subsidy duties on products from countries that undervalue their currencies, in another move that could penalize Chinese products. China's Commerce Ministry hit back on Thursday, with its spokesman saying "if the United States wants to continue trade talks, they should show sincerity and correct their wrong actions."

Both Beijing and Washington have imposed tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of one another's goods since last year. The trade tensions have battered financial markets and dampened business sentiment. The situation escalated earlier this month as both sides hiked tariffs on their goods.

Blue chips closed mostly firmer. HSBC (00005) edged up 0.2% to HK$65.4. HKEX (00388) nudged up 0.7% to HK$248. Tencent (00700) inched down 0.1% to HK$326.4. China Mobile (00941) gained 1.8% to HK$73.4. AIA (01299) moved up 0.7% to HK$75.45.

Shares of automakers inclined. Geely Automobile (00175) put on 2.3% to HK$12.46. Great Wall Motor (02333) surged 3.7% to HK$5.37. GAC Group (02238) added 1.6% to HK$7.21. BYD (01211) gained 1.5% to HK$45.5.

Shares of Casino operators met profit-taking after a surge in recent sessions. Sands China (01928) shed 3.1% to HK$36.6. It was the worst blue-chip loser. SJM Holdings (00880) ebbed 0.1% to HK$8.43. MGM China (02282) dipped 1.9% to HK$12.72.

ECONOMIC NEWS: The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures for April 2019 on Thursday, showing the Composite CPI, overall consumer prices rose by 2.9% in April 2019 over the same month a year earlier, larger than the corresponding increase (2.1%) in March 2019.

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