Hong Kong Stocks gains 1.6%

Headline shares of the Hong Kong market closed higher on Wednesday, 31 October 2018, as investors chased for bottom fishing on following the positive lead from Wall Street overnight. Meanwhile, buying momentum amplified on expectations that Beijing will ease policy further to stabilise the economy after release of China's worse-than-expected reading for manufacturing activity for October. At closing bell, the Hang Seng Index grew 394.16 points or 1.6% to 24,979.69. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index increased by 139.68 points or 1.4% to 10,138.63. The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking the Commerce & Industry sector grew 2.8%, Utilities sector added 1.1%, and financial sector rose 1.3%, while properties sector sank 0.3%.

China's official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) produced by China's National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) was stood at 50.2 for October, down from 50.8 in September, and slightly above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction, as factory activity in the world's second largest economy slowed amid the ongoing US-China trade war. A production sub-index fell to 52 in October from 53.0 in September, while a new orders sub-index declined to 50.8 from 52.0. New export orders, an indicator of future activity, fell to 46.9 from 48.0 in September. The latest reading suggests a further slowing in the world's second-biggest economy and could prompt more policy support from Beijing on top of a raft of recent initiatives.

 

Technology stocks advanced on following an overnight rally in the US. Tencent Holdings rallied 5.9% to HK$267. Sunny Optical jumped 5.8% to HK$68 and AAC Tech gained 4.7% to HK$59.65. AAC Technologies (02018) also rose 4.7% to HK$59.65.

Shares of energy companies were mixed, with PetroChina was up 3.4% to HK$5.74, after oil and gas provider net profit surged 350% to 21 billion yuan in the third quarter ended September 2018. Sinopec, however, dropped 2.8% to HK$6.36 after posting net profit of 18.4 billion yuan in the third quarter ended September 2018, down from a record high of 22.8 billion yuan in the second quarter.

OFFSHORE MARKET: US stock market closed higher on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 431.72 points or 1.8% to 24,874.64, the Nasdaq jumped 111.36 points or 1.6% to 7,161.65 and the S&P 500 surged up 41.38 points or 1.6% to 2,682.63.

European markets ended mixed Tuesday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index inched up by 0.1%, while the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2% and the German DAX Index fell by 0.4%.

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