Hong Kong stocks rise despite unfavorable cues of economic data

Hong Kong's main Hang Seng index crept higher on Monday as investors shrugged off data showing the Chinese economy slowed within market expectations in the fourth quarter of 2018, amid expectations that Beijing would roll out more stimulus to boost growth. At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 0.39 per cent at 27,196.54 points.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 0.72 per cent to 10,713.05. The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 1.6 per cent, while the IT sector climbed 0.84 per cent, the financial sector ended 0.26 per cent higher and the property sector dipped 0.35 per cent. China's economic growth cooled slightly to 6.4 per cent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, weighed down by weak investment, faltering consumer confidence and the trade war with the United States. While 2018 GDP growth of 6.6 per cent was the weakest since 1990, growth figures were in line with market expectations.

The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Sunny Optical Technology Group Co Ltd, which gained 5.44 per cent, while the biggest loser was Sino Biopharmaceutical Ltd, which fell 3.72 per cent. China's main Shanghai Composite index closed up 0.56 per cent at 2,610.51 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended up 0.55 per cent.

Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.15 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.26 per cent. The yuan was quoted at 6.7892 per U.S. dollar at 08:21 GMT, 0.14 per cent weaker than the previous close of 6.7795. The top gainers among H-shares were China Tower Corp Ltd up 4.58 per cent, followed by China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd, gaining 4.39 per cent, and Postal Savings Bank of China Co Ltd, up by 3.1 per cent.

The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were Guangdong Investment Ltd, which was down 4.74 per cent, Air China Ltd, which fell 3.3 per cent, and PICC Property and Casualty Co Ltd, down by 2.9 per cent. About 1.69 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded, roughly 117 per cent of the market's 30-day moving average of 1.44 billion shares a day. The volume traded in the previous trading session was 1.75 billion. At the close, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 17.65 per cent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares.