Hong Kong stocks surge to 20-month high as China-stimulus rally continues apace

By Jamie Chisholm

Hong Kong's equity market surged to a 20-month high on Wednesday as the rally ignited by Beijing's raft of stimulus measures continued to lift Chinese stocks.

With mainland China markets closed for the Golden Week holiday, all the focus was on Hong Kong, which returned after a day's break on Tuesday.

The territory's Hang Seng index jumped 6.2%, taking its gains over the past 13 trading sessions to 31% and leaving the benchmark at its best level since the end of January 2023.

Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, said the Hang Seng's bounce was of historic proportions. "The only time we've seen anything like this was in 1973 when the index rallied 73% in a 13 day period," he said.

Before closing for its week-long rest, the CSI 300 XX:000300, an index of the biggest mainland A-shares traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen, had risen 26.7% over the same period.

The spectacular resurgence comes as investors welcome a slew of stimulus proposals from China's government over the past couple of weeks that are designed to revive the world's second biggest economy and lift its stock market.

These include mortgage rate cuts to support the beleaguered housing sector, the reduction of bank's capital requirements to boost lending, and funds to allow companies to buy back their own shares.

Hong Kong stocks with real estate exposure were particularly buoyant on Wednesday, with Longfor Group Holdings (HK:960) up 24.7%, China Overseas Land & Investment (HK:688) adding 15.1%, and Hang Lung Properties (HK:101) gaining 13.6%.

The Hang Seng's latest rally was all the more notable because it occurred as many other bourses were struggling under the weight of geopolitical concerns after Iran bombarded Israel with rockets the day before.

Wall Street's S&P 500 SPX had closed 0.9% lower on Tuesday, while in Asia the next day the Nikkei 225 JP:NIK in Japan lost 2.2%.

"Given the extensive list of measures included in China's stimulus plan, it is not a surprise that markets have remained robust even with geopolitical uncertainty rising rapidly," said Patrick Munnelly, partner at Tickmill Group.

-Jamie Chisholm

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10-02-24 0520ET

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