HSBC helps Hong Kong stocks to inch higher, Alibaba takes a spin

Hong Kong stocks edged higher on Tuesday, building on last Friday's gains, helped by index heavyweight HSBC which rose after its largest shareholder, Chinese insurance giant Ping An, called for a break-up of the London-headquartered bank. ** The Hang Index gained 0.12% to 21,114.25 in the morning session.

Hong Kong stocks edged higher on Tuesday, building on last Friday's gains, helped by index heavyweight HSBC which rose after its largest shareholder, Chinese insurance giant Ping An, called for a break-up of the London-headquartered bank.

** The Hang Index gained 0.12% to 21,114.25 in the morning session. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index shed 0.27% to 7,278.98. ** Mainland Chinese markets are closed for a holiday. Trading will resume on Thursday. ** HSBC's Hong Kong shares rose 1.85% on Tuesday after Friday reports, including from Reuters, that Ping An had urged HSBC to look at options including spinning off the Asian business, where it earns the majority of its revenue or taking other steps to increase its valuation. ** Markets in London and Hong Kong were closed on Monday for a holiday. ** The Hang Seng index "has been revolving around the 20,000 level for the last few days. In the near term, we are waiting to see how China implements all these potentially market-friendly policies," said Louis Tse, managing director of Hong Kong brokerage Wealthy Securities. ** Hong Kong tech stocks rose sharply on Friday after China signaled an easing of its crackdown on the once-freewheeling tech sector, as President Xi Jinping seeks to bolster the economy in the face of growth-sapping COVID-19 lockdowns. ** Alibaba's shares were volatile on Tuesday, falling as much as 9% after a state media report that Chinese authorities had taken action against an individual surnamed Ma, but recouped losses after those reports were revised to make clear it was not the company's founder. Shares were down 1.57% at midday ** The Hang Seng Tech Index shed 0.93%. ** Also among the leaders was the Bank of China (Hong Kong) up 4.7% after posting strong results after the market close on Friday. ** Mainland developers trading in Hong Kong added 3%, building on Friday's gains.

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