Hong Kong shares break six-session losing streak

Oct 10 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares ended slightly higher on Wednesday, breaking a six-session losing streak, but persistent concerns over growth and global trade capped gains.

** The Hang Seng index rose 0.1 percent to 26,193.07 points, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.2 percent to 10,442.71 points. ** U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday repeated his threat to impose tariffs on $267 billion worth of additional Chinese imports if China retaliates for the recent levies and other measures the United States has taken in the countries' escalating trade war. ** China must take strong stimulus measures to support growth, with the country in a "critical" period of stabilising its economy, according to a commentary in the Global Times, a state-backed Chinese tabloid. ** Risks to the global financial system have risen over the past six months and could increase sharply if pressures in emerging markets escalate or global trade relations deteriorate further, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. But the IMF's chief economist said he was not concerned about China's ability to defend its currency. ** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 0.4 percent, while the IT sector dipped 1.63 percent, the financial sector was 0.17 percent higher and property sector dipped 0.27 percent. ** Index heavyweight Tencent Holdings Ltd weighed on the tech sector as the company's shares fell to 15-month lows in their ninth straight session of losses, closing down 2.5 percent. ** The top gainer on Hang Seng was China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd , up 4.1 percent, while the biggest loser was Want Want China Holdings Ltd, which fell 6.86 percent. ** China's main Shanghai Composite index closed up 0.2 percent at 2,725.84, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended down 0.22 percent. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.03 percent, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.16 percent. ** The yuan was quoted at 6.9192 per U.S. dollar at 08:23 GMT, 0.1 percent firmer than the previous close of 6.926. ** As of the previous trading session, the Hang Seng index was down 12.52 percent this year, while China's H-share index was down 11.0 percent. As of the previous close, the Hang Seng has declined 5.81 percent this month. ** The top gainers among H-shares were China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd up 4.1 percent, followed by ZhongAn Online P & C Insurance Co Ltd, gaining 3.61 percent and China Mobile Ltd, up by 3 percent. ** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were Shenzhou International Group Holdings Ltd, which was down 4.85 percent, China Gas Holdings Ltd, which fell 3.4 percent and Tencent Holdings Ltd, down by 2.5 percent. ** About 1.77 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded, roughly the same as the market's 30-day moving average. The volume traded in the previous trading session was 1.80 billion. ** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 23.22 percent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. ** The price-to-earnings ratio of the Hang Seng index was 10.14 as of the last full trading day while the dividend yield was 3.6 percent. ** So far this week, the market capitalisation of the Hang Seng index has fallen by 1.55 percent to HK$17.06 trillion. ** The short and one-factor leveraged Hang Seng index, which is designed to replicate the payoff of a short or leveraged portfolio and is linked to the movements of the Hang Seng Index, was lower by 0.07 percent on the day at 5,348.05 points. (Reporting by Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)

Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.