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Hong Kong - Hong Kong’s equity benchmarks rebounded, with energy companies leading the advance as crude oil traded near a 15-month high.
The Hang Seng Index added 0.6% as of 07:24. China Oilfield Services surged to levels last seen in November 2015 while refining giant China Petroleum & Chemical rose the most this month after a drop in US crude stockpiles pushed oil to more than $51 a barrel. A measure of Chinese companies traded in Hong Kong climbed to a one-week high.
The rally in energy companies reinvigorated a stock market that has been treading water this month as inflows from mainland investors dry up and turnover falls to the lowest level in three months.
This is a reversal from the July-September period, when record inflows of cash via a stock link with Shanghai and fading concerns of a Chinese hard landing helped send Hong Kong’s benchmark index to its best quarterly gain in seven years.
"In the short term, people think the Chinese economy is better than expected, so money may be re-entering stocks,” said Peter So, co-head of research at CCB International Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. “But turnover is so low, so the gains probably won’t last.”
The Hang Seng Index was last at 23 445.6, with turnover sliding to the lowest since July on Wednesday. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 0.9%, while the Shanghai Composite Index was little changed.
A Hong Kong gauge of developers defied the broader upward trend to fall for a second day on concern of a mainland crackdown on real-estate prices. China Oilfield rose 6.9%, while China Petroleum & Chemical, which is known as Sinopec, added 2.6%.
The Chinese government has realized it must take action to restore order to the property market and decided to remove market-disrupting "tumors," the official Xinhua News Agency wrote in a commentary.
At least 21 cities have introduced purchase restrictions and toughened mortgage lending since late September, and the Shanghai Stock Exchange has temporarily halted approving some property bond sales, said people familiar with the matter.
A Hong Kong tribunal banned US short-seller Andrew Left of Citron Research from trading in the city’s market for five years after publishing “false and/or misleading” claims about a locally listed firms. He said he plans to appeal.
Reports released Wednesday showed China’s third-quarter economic expansion and September retail sales met estimates, supporting optimism that growth is stabilizing after credit data released earlier this week exceeded expectations.
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