Hong Kong stocks post fourth week of gains

Hong Kong stocks rebounded on Friday, recording a fourth week of gains, as mainland shares showed signs of stabilising after Thursday's tumble. Financial stocks led the gains, as some investors believe Chinese banks will benefit from Beijing's tough rules against shadow banking, which will remove systemic risks in the sector, despite short-term negative impact on the market's mood. ** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 158.38 points or 0.53 percent at 29,866.32. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 1.46 percent to 11,908.19.
The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 0.2 percent while the IT sector dipped 0.73 percent, the financial sector was 1.05 percent higher and the property sector rose 0.74 percent. The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd up 3.52 percent, while the biggest loser was Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd which was down 1.76 percent. Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.17 percent while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.12 percent.
So far this year, the Hang Seng index is up 35.03 percent, while China's H-share index is up 24.9 percent. The Hang Seng has risen 5.18 percent this month. The top gainers among H-shares were Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric Co Ltd up 4.85 percent, followed by People's Insurance Group of China Co Ltd gaining 4.23 percent and Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd up by 3.52 percent. The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd which was down 0.92 percent, Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd which fell 0.6 percent and China Minsheng Banking Corp Ltd down by 0.3 percent.
At the close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 29.69 percent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. The price-to-earnings ratio of the Hang Seng index was 13.61 as of the last full trading day while the dividend yield was 2.9 percent.