Hong Kong stocks climb on China stimulus, drop in coronavirus cases

Hong Kong stocks closed more than 2% higher on Tuesday, in line with mainland gains, after Beijing's latest economic stimulus and a fall in cases of the new coronavirus.

** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 504.17 points, or 2.12%, at 24,253.29. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 2.02% to 9,846.92.

** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 0.7%, while the IT sector rose 1.86%, the financial sector ended 1.87% higher and the property sector rose 2.24%.

** The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd, which gained 7.35%, while the biggest loser was Hang Seng Bank Ltd, which fell 1.01%.

** China's main Shanghai Composite index closed up 2.05% at 2,820.76 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended up 2.28%.

** China's central bank said on Friday it was cutting the amount of cash that small banks must hold in reserve, releasing around 400 billion yuan ($56 billion) in liquidity to shore up an economy jolted by the coronavirus outbreak.

** The benchmark Hang Seng index may start to stabilize for now, as the PBOC's move is expected to substantially lift market sentiment, analysts at Guodu Hong Kong said in a report.

** Also helping provide some support were tentative signs the coronavirus crisis may be leveling off in New York and receding in Europe.

** The United States is bracing for its toughest week yet as the death toll climbs above 10,000 while across the Atlantic, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has entered intensive care after his COVID-19 symptoms worsened.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 2.38%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 2.01%.

** The yuan was quoted at 7.0585 per U.S. dollar at 08:18 GMT, 0.5% firmer than the previous close of 7.0938.

** At close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 25.86% over Hong Kong-listed H-shares.

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