HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks bounced between small gains and losses Thursday morning following a seven-day losing streak.
The Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.43% inched up 0.1%, with the mainland-China-tracking Hang Seng China Enterprises up 0.7%. Mainland Chinese banks advanced broadly after China’s vice finance minister said the central government has approved a 1 trillion yuan ($160 billion) quota to allow local governments to swap some of their maturing high-interest debt into lower-interest government debt in a bid to reduce their debt burden and decrease bad-debt risks for banks.
China Merchants Bank Co. 3968, +3.17% CIHHF, -7.73% 600036, +4.22% advanced 1.2%, Bank of Communications Co. 3328, +2.42% BKFCF, -3.61% 601328, +3.93% rose 1.1%, Bank of China Ltd. 3988, +2.39% BACHY, +0.33% 601988, +3.99% added 1%, and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. 1288, +1.64% ACGBF, -4.17% 601288, +2.48% moved up 0.8%. Major insurers also gained, with China Taiping Insurance Holdings Co. 0966, +3.31% up 1.7%, and China Pacific Insurance Group Co. 2601, +3.05% 601601, +2.65% CHPXF, +36.11% higher by 1.1%. However, Macau casino stocks extended their recent sell-off, which had been partly triggered by the cut to the sector’s target prices by several investment banks. Wynn Macau Ltd. 1128, -1.37% WYNMF, -1.30% slid 2.9%, Sands China Ltd. 1928, -0.16% shed 2.7%, MGM China Holdings Ltd. 2282, +0.27% MCHVF, +1.57% lost 2.2%, Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. 6883, -1.08% MPEL, +1.22% fell 2%, and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. 0027, +1.03% GXYEF, -3.90% dropped 1.5%. Among other market movers, top-weighted index component HSBC Holdings PLC 0005, -0.83% HSBC, -0.12% HSBA, +0.34% declined 0.8% to extended recent losses, and fellow index heavyweight Tencent Holdings Ltd. 0700, -0.38% TCEHY, -0.06% also lost 0.8%. However, telecoms giant China Mobile Ltd. 0941, +3.27% CHL, +0.00% — also a large presence on the Hang Seng Index — rebounded 2% after two days of heavy losses. Hong Kong-based telecom carrier PCCW Ltd. 0008, -0.21% PCWLF, +0.70% rose 0.4%, after the company said Wednesday that it will buy California-based Vuclip, a mobile-video service provider, with the price for the buyout not disclosed. And shares of broadband-service provider HKBN Ltd. 1310, +0.00% debuted after pricing at the top of their indicative range, though the stock was little changed in early trade. Over on the Chinese mainland, meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, +1.35% rose 0.5%, extending a 0.2% gain the previous day.
