Hong Kong stocks reverse course, aided by mainland money

Hong Kong stocks staged a reversal on Thursday, bouncing back from a seven-month low, as mainland investors hunted for bargains through the Stock Connect.

** The Hang Seng index rose 0.8% to 25,495.46, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.4% to 9,903.41. ** As of the previous close, the benchmark index had lost 8.9% in August.

** The HSI on Thursday initially lost as much as 1.6% to its lowest since Jan. 4, following an overnight selloff on the Wall Street, after the U.S. Treasury yield curve temporarily inverted for the first time in 12 years. ** Stocks then turned higher, aided by strong money flows from the mainland.

** For the day, investors via the Stock Connect linking mainland and Hong Kong bought a total of 5.1 billion yuan ($725.9 million) worth of Hong Kong shares. Those investors had been net buyers in the past weeks even as stocks slid on the island city amid protests and trade worries. ** Properties, among most affected by the protests, and telecoms shares, led the gains, closing up 3.3% and 4.4%, respectively.

** U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday tied a trade deal with China to the humane resolution of the weeks of protests wracking Hong Kong, hours after the State Department said it was "deeply concerned" about reports of movement of Chinese paramilitary forces along the Hong Kong border. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.5%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 1.21%.

** The yuan was quoted at 7.0285 per U.S. dollar at 08:14 GMT, 0.05% weaker than the previous close of 7.025. ** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 32.17% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares. 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)