China, HK stocks gain as banks extend rally; chips also gain

Reuters2024-12-24

Hong Kong, Dec 24(Reuters) - China and Hong Kong stocks gained on Tuesday, led by a bank rally, while tech shares rose despite the new U.S. trade curbs on Chinese chips.

** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index .SSEC gained 0.68% to 3,374.18 points and the blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 jumped 0.75%.

** Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index .HSI added 1.08% to 20,098.29 - a near two-week high. It has rallied 18% so far this year, ranking among the best performers in major global markets.

** Financial markets in Hong Kong will be closed on Tuesday afternoon through Thursday for a local holiday. Trading will resume on Friday.

** Leading gains onshore, banks extended Monday's rally as investors continued to seek shelter in high dividend-yielding assets amid falling bond yields. The gauge tracking the sector .CSI399986 added 0.8% to over a two-month high.

** China's four biggest state-owned banks - Industrial and Commercial (ICBC) .601398.SS, Bank of China $(BOC)$ .601988.SS China Construction Bank $(CCB)$ .601939.SS and Agricultural Bank of China $(ABC.AU)$ .601288.SS - gained between 0.3% and 1% to hit multi-year highs.

** Yields on China's long-dated government bonds, including the 10-year .CN10YT=RR and 30-year .CN30YT=RR ones, hovered near record lows at 1.69% and 1.95%, respectively, as investors headed into 2025 betting on no sharp recovery in the economy.

** Chips .CSIH30184 pared losses to rise 0.3% after the Biden administration announced a last-minute trade investigation into older China-made "legacy" semiconductors that could heap more U.S. tariffs on Chinese chips.

** The risk appetite has improved following Beijing's policy shift, but the market is set to stay volatile with constant thematic rotations until more concrete data on fundamental improvements emerge next year, analysts at TF Securities said.

** China and Hong Kong are looking to end 2024 a multi-year slump and close on a high, thanks to Beijing's stimulus blitz from September.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index .MIAPJ0000PUS firmed 0.36%, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 eased 0.33%.

** Chinese ADRs .HXC advanced 0.91% overnight.

(Reporting by Hong Kong Newsroom; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

((jiaxing.li@tr.com))

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

China, HK stocks gain as banks extend rally; chips also gain

Comments