Property, tech stocks lift Hang Seng as China vows to maintain a healthy real estate market amid distress signs
- Hang Seng Index posts strong gain on the back of PBOC’s pledge to maintain a healthy property market amid distress signs
- Country Garden, Alibaba and Meituan lead top winners while China Evergrande also benefits from better sentiment
Hong Kong stocks rose for the second day, buoyed by a rally in real estate developers, after China’s central bank pledged to ensure a healthy property market amid concerns about the fallout from Evergrande’s liquidity crunch.
The Hang Seng Index rose 1.5 per cent to 24,561.75 at the local noon break. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.5 per cent to 3601.66. The Hang Seng Tech index jumped 1.9 per cent.
Longfor Group rose 8.5 per cent, Country Garden advanced 6.3 per cent and China Resources Land climbed 5.2 per cent while Sunac China surged 17.4 per cent. China Evergrande added 3.5 per cent to HK$2.64.
The People’s Bank of China said it will sustain a healthy development of the property market and consumers’ rights at its third-quarterly meeting on Monday. The statement suggests policymakers are seeking to contain risks amid signs of distress in the industry.
China Evergrande added 3.5 per cent to HK$2.64. Hong Kong-based developer Chinese Estates Holdings sold about 131 million shares in the indebted builder on Monday at an average price of HK$2.6845, according to an exchange filing, trimming its stake to 4.7 per cent.
The Hong Kong-based developer, a staunch ally of Evergrande’s founder Hui Ka-yan, had ealrier declared its intention sell all its remaining shares.
Alibaba, the owner of this newspaper, led gains among tech stocks with a 6 per cent appreciation, while Meituan and Tencent Holdings added 2.2 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively.
Chinese tech companies have began to allowed services provided by rivals on their platforms to comply with directives from market regulators to end monopoly and exclusivity. Alibaba said its platform now accepts WeChat Pay operated by rival Tencent Holdings.
Hangzhou Dadi Haiyang Environmental Protection began trading for the first time in mainland China, it surged 171 per cent to 37.91 yuan.
Author: Iris Ouyang, SCMP