Hong Kong stocks surge to 7-week high on property market speculation as China

On Feb 21, 2024

Hong Kong stocks rallied to a seven-week high as property developers advanced on speculation the city’s government will remove more curbs this month to stem an industry slump. China pledged to improve policy transparency while state-run funds have stepped up intervention. HSBC jumped before its 2023 earnings report.

The Hang Seng Index surged 3 per cent to 16,735.92 at the local noon trading break to reach the highest level since January 2. The Tech Index soared 4.5 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.7 per cent.

Sun Hung Kai Properties advanced 3.6 per cent to HK$75.05, Henderson Land added 2.3 per cent to HK$21.80 while Wharf REIC gained 1.3 per cent to HK$26.60 and New World Development climbed 5.4 per cent to HK$9.86. The Hang Seng Property Index added 3.5 per cent to a one-month high.

Chinese tech stocks also rallied, as Alibaba Group strengthened 2.6 per cent to HK$74 and Tencent rose 3.1 per cent to HK$293. Meanwhile, HSBC added 1.1 per cent to HK$63.35 before reporting a slower than expected increase in annual profit. Its subsidiary Hang Seng Bank rose 3.4 per cent to HK$84.65.

The Hang Seng Index has appreciated 8.1 per cent this month, clawing its way up from a 14-month low in January as Beijing stepped up measures to repair investor confidence. The rebound in February has restored US$200 billion of value to the city’s stock market through February 20, according to Bloomberg data.

Remove property curbs as people’s ‘assets are disappearing’: Midland chief

Financial secretary Paul Chan Mo-po will deliver the city’s budget on February 28 as traders bank on measures to jump-start the local economy. Some industry veterans have also called on Chan to dismantle market hurdles as asset values diminished. The government imposed curbs to cool a speculative frenzy in the 1990s.

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“The government continued to provide liquidity and support to the market,” Kelly Chung, investment director and head of multi-asset at Value Partners, said in a note on Wednesday. Still, sentiment will be solidly lifted with concrete details of the policy, she added.

Longfor soared 11 per cent to HK$10.14 and peer China Resources Land jumped 4.9 per cent to HK$25.60, leading gains among mainland developers. The nation’s commercial banks on Tuesday cut the five-year loan prime rate cut by a record 25 basis points, a signal that policymakers are worried about the housing market slump.

Other major Asian markets mostly traded lower, tracking weaker overnight US equities The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 0.5 per cent and the S&P ASX 200 in Australia declined 0.7 per cent, while the Kospi Index in South Korea lost 0.3 per cent.