Hong Kong stocks rebound on Wall St gains, China PMI expected to improve

Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura, said his team raised their forecast for China's September official PMI from 49.9 to 50.2. ** "As more high frequency data has been released in recent days, we are seeing increasing signs of stabilizing growth in September," he said.

Hong Kong shares rebounded on the last trading day of September, tracking Wall Street gains overnight due to a pullback in U.S. Treasury yields from multi-year highs. The rally was also driven by positive forecasts for September manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) data to be released on Saturday.

Mainland markets are closed for a week-long National Day holiday and will reopen on Oct. 9. ** Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 2.51%, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index jumped 2.63%.

** Hong Kong-listed tech giants rallied more than 3%. ** "Hong Kong stocks have fallen sharply recently, with P/E ratio dropping to less than 10 times. So today is more of a technical rebound driven by the external U.S. market," said Linus Yip, chief strategist at First Shanghai Securities.

** The Hang Seng Index fell to a new low in 2023 on Thursday as high interest rates and China's economic problems continued to pressure the market. The benchmark dipped 3% for the month. ** Embattled property giant China Evergrande Group said its founder is being investigated over suspected "illegal crimes", letting creditors become increasingly concerned about the group's prospects.

** Evergrande Group and its units have suspended share trading in Hong Kong since Sept. 28. ** Yet China's economy shows signs of recovery. Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura, said his team raised their forecast for China's September official PMI from 49.9 to 50.2.

** "As more high frequency data has been released in recent days, we are seeing increasing signs of stabilizing growth in September," he said. ** On the geopolitical front, U.S. and China are discussing a possible trip to Washington by Xi's top economic policy aide, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, which could pave the way for Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the U.S.

** Hong Kong shares of Nio Inc surged 9% after Reuters reported the Chinese electric vehicle maker is exploring a tie-up with Mercedes-Benz that would see the German automaker invest in Nio in exchange for technology.

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