HK stocks rise to 1-month high as govt housing measures boost property shares

Hong Kong stocks rose to a one-month high on Wednesday, led by property shares, after the city's leader announced measures aimed at easing a housing shortage and calming anti-government protests. ** However, the gain was capped by lingering uncertainty around Sino-U.S. trade talks, as well as worries about China's economic health.

** The Hang Seng index rose 0.6%, to 26,664.28 points, while the China Enterprises index gained 0.3%, to 10,532.17 points. ** Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said in a speech that the government would drastically increase the number of housing projects and accelerate the sale of public housing schemes. An index tracking Hong Kong's developers and construction companies gained over 2%.

** Investors remained cautious amid signs of fragility in the trade truce between Beijing and Washington. The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed four pieces of legislation, taking a hard line on China over Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement and a legal dispute around Chinese telecom giant Huawei. ** Also capping gains was the gloomy economic outlook. China's economic growth is expected to slow to a near 30-year low of 6.2% this year and cool further to 5.9% in 2020, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

** In addition to property shares, the IT and financial sectors also rose.