Hong Kong stocks jumped on Friday, snapping a four-day decline, as official data showing sluggish economic growth in China bolstered the case for the government to roll out more meaningful measures to fulfil the annual target of 5 per cent.
Listed Chinese companies and key shareholders can apply for loans from nearly two dozen banks to fund stock buy-backs and stake increases, as financial regulators unveiled rules for the 300 billion yuan (US$42.2 billion) relending programme as part of their funding tools to bolster equities.
China will cut commercial banks’ reserve requirement ratio and other policy rates by the end of the year, depending on the liquidity condition, Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China, said at a financial forum in Beijing on Friday.
On Friday, October 18, 2024, the Hong Kong stock market saw significant gains across major indices. The Hang Seng Index (HSI) rose by 3.61%, the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) increased by 4.07%, and the Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH) surged by 5.77%.
Several industry sectors experienced notable increases, including Investment Banking & Brokerage (+10.19%), Electronic Equipment & Instruments (+8.53%), and Life Sciences Tools & Services (+8.24%).
Among individual stocks, SMIC saw a remarkable rise of 16.35%. Geely Auto increased by 5.18% following news that it acquired land in Shanghai, previously speculated to be purchased by Xiaomi. Ali Health surged by 9.16%, and CITIC rose by 4.51%. Lenovo Group gained 6.24% after announcing that its ThinkSystem servers will feature NVIDIA's Blackwell AI accelerators. CSPC Pharma climbed 8.06% due to a significant acquisition and partnership with AstraZeneca. Hua Hong Semi jumped 11.79%, and China Cinda soared 15.79%.
Other notable movements included Xiaomi-W rising by 6.28%, Li Auto-W increasing by 4.73%, and Goldwind gaining 6.27% after signing a strategic cooperation agreement. Meituan-W saw an 8.93% rise, and CITIC Securities surged by 13.64% amid strong performance in the financial sector. FIT Hon Teng increased by 10.14%, and CMSC saw a significant rise of 17.85% following the People's Bank of China's introduction of stock repurchase and holding increase loans. SWHY also rose by 14.49%, and SMOORE International gained 5.79%. JD-SW increased by 2.65%, and Bilibili-W rose by 6.30%. NIO-SW and XPENG-W both saw a rise of 1.43%, while MINISO increased by 2.96%. Pop Mart surged by 6.32%, continuing its strong performance for the year.
