HK stocks hit 5-week closing high on trade optimism, Wall Street wave

Hong Kong stocks hit a five-week closing high on Tuesday, buoyed by optimism over the Sino-U.S. interim trade deal and Wall Street's rally to record highs. ** Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index closed up 1.2% at 27,843.71 points. The China Enterprises Index gained 1.7% to 10,964.99 points. ** The preliminary deal between Washington and Beijing will double U.S. exports to China, White House adviser Larry Kudlow told Fox News on Monday. The United States will also reduce some tariffs on Chinese goods under the agreement. ** It is not yet signed, and the Chinese side have been more circumspect in their praise, but U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said over the weekend it is "totally done". ** Sentiment got a further boost on Monday after data showed growth in China's industrial and retail sectors beat expectations in November.

** Morgan Stanley said in a report on Monday that the "Phase 1" trade deal should benefit Chinese companies with sizeable U.S. revenue exposure, with historical evidence suggesting that IT and consumer discretionary sectors are likely to re-rate the most. ** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares ended 1.9% firmer, while the IT sector closed 2.34% higher, the financial sector ended 1.28% higher and the property sector closed 0.3% weaker. ** The top gainer in the Hang Seng was CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd, which closed 4.2% firmer, while the biggest loser was China Resources Land Ltd, which ended 2.49% lower. ** China's main Shanghai Composite index closed up 1.27% at 3,022.42 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended up 1.36%. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.9%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.47%. ** The yuan was quoted at 7.0001 per U.S. dollar at 0845 GMT, 0.07% weaker than the previous close of 6.9949. ** The top gainers among H-shares were CITIC Securities Co Ltd up 5.47%, followed by Haitong Securities Co Ltd , gaining 5.12% and CRRC Corp Ltd, closing 5.04% higher.