China stocks rebound; HK flat amid weak global markets

22 Dec, 2023

SHANGHAI: China stocks rose on Thursday, rebounding from a near five-year low hit in the previous session, while Hong Kong shares were largely flat, weighed by weaker global markets after Wall Street snapped a long winning streak.

The blue-chip CSI 300 Index rose 1%, but hovered around its lowest level since February 2019. The Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.6%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed almost flat, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index added 0.1%. Asian shares retreated on Thursday after Wall Street snapped a long winning streak, while Treasury yields were near five-month lows on hopes Britain’s notably soft inflation reading would be echoed in looming US price data.

In mainland China markets, shares in new energy , artificial intelligence and tourism companies jumped by between 1.5% and 2.7% to lead the gains.

Foreign investors were net buyers of Chinese shares on the day, following two sessions of selling.

“The market is near the bottom, there is not much room for further declines,” said a broker analyst, who declined to give his name. “However, investor sentiment still remained weak, due to lingering worries about the recovery and policy stimulus.”

Some Chinese major commercial banks will cut time deposit rates on Friday, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters after markets closed, a move to provide more room for reducing lending costs amid a faltering economy.

In Hong Kong, tech giants slipped 0.4%. However, Alibaba and Meituan both rose 1.1%. “If monetary policy turns loose early next year, we can expect a major rebound,” said Zhang Chi, an analyst at Sinolink Securities. “The sustainability of the rebound will mainly depend on the recovery and liquidity situation.”

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