Shanghai - Hong Kong stocks extended
yesterday's sharp gains on Friday morning, set to have their
best week in four months, as weakness in the US currency and
low treasury yields helped ease fears of capital outflow from
emerging markets.
The benchmark Hang Seng index added 0.4 percent, to
22,546.76 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index
gained 0.2 percent, to 9,616.88 points.
Barring a correction, the benchmark index was set to have
its best weekly gain since Sep. 9, up around 2.5 percent.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against
six major world currencies, hit a low of 101.37 in early trade,
around 2.4 percent down from a intraday high set on Tuesday.
Most sectors in Hong Kong gained modestly, with tech stocks
the best performer, up more than 1 percent.
China stocks pulled back in early trade, but Shanghai shares
were poised to break a five-week losing streak as the market
carries solid momentum into 2017 amid signs of economic
stabilisation.
The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.1 percent, to
3,161.77 points, putting on nearly 1.9 percent so far this week.
The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.3 percent, to
3,357.50 points.
"Investors are likely to stay lukewarm on the stock market
until the end of Lunar New year when sentiment is expected to
improve," said Cao Xuefeng, head of research at Huaxi
Securities.
He noted that Friday's bearish sentiment on the mainland, as
the market corrects, was partially offset by strength among
energy majors and Beijing's efforts to defend the yuan.
China's central bank set the official yuan midpoint at
6.8668 per dollar prior to market opening on Friday, the
strongest fixing in a month, sparking speculation that Beijing
wants a firm grip on the currency ahead of U.S. president-elect
Donald Trump's inauguration later this month.
Market response towards the finance ministry's resolution to
study new measures to cut taxes and reduce the overall cost
burden on firms was muted.
Sector performance on the mainland was mixed.
Property stocks retreated despite media reports that China's
average home prices were forecast to rise 4.1 percent in 2017.