HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks swung between small gains and losses Thursday morning, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index up 0.1% about 50 minutes into trade, shedding earlier losses. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, or “H-share index,” fell 0.2%. Chinese financials pulled back after a Bloomberg report said the Chinese central bank had decided not to extend some of its 670 billion yuan ($108 billion) Medium-term Lending Facility (MLF) loans maturing this month, as recent easing measures had already reduced the borrowing costs of the banks. Bank of Communications Co. retreated 2%, Bank of China Ltd. declined 1%, China Merchants Bank Co. dropped 0.8%, and China Citic Bank Corp. lost 0.6%. However, property stocks mostly advanced after official data showed the average new home prices in major Chinese cities reversed a monthly decline in May, rising slighly from April. Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd. jumped 3.5%, index component China Resources Land Ltd. climbed 2.3%, Shimao Property Holdings Ltd. gained 1.9%, and China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. , also a Hang Seng constituent, rose 1.3%. Hong Kong cosmestics store chain Sa Sa International Holdings Ltd. surged 6.4% after it announced it would work with Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s online-payment platform Tenpay and allow shoppers to use mobile payment service WeChat Payment in Sa Sa stores in Hong Kong. Tencent shares rose 0.7%. Meanwhile, mainland China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.4%.
