Asian equity markets rose on Wednesday, as Chinese stocks jumped on speculation Beijing will open a trading link between Shenzhen and Hong Kong by the end of the year.
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Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing ended the session up 4.4 percent.
But the People’s Bank of China later updated the posting, clarifying that the article was based on an internal speech that Mr Zhou delivered in May, while the Hong Kong exchange said no agreement had been entered into. However, Du warned that the high valuation of small-cap stocks may curb the upside for stocks.
China launched a landmark “stock connect” between Shanghai and its special administrative region of Hong Kong in late 2014, opening up its closeted share market to the outside world and giving foreign investors access to Chinese companies not quoted elsewhere.
Margin traders raised holdings of shares purchased with borrowed money for a second day on Wednesday, with the outstanding balance in Shanghai climbing to 636.5 billion (S$140.7 billion) yuan.
The market was also impacted by the fall of high-profile hedge fund manager Xu Xiang.
“A lot of investors we speak to are watching this development very closely from the sidelines on what will be the ultimate impact for investors”, said the head of global index strategy and ETF research at a European Bank in Hong Kong.
Eighteen years after Hong Kong was handed back to China from British control, the government has chose to cover up the royal insignia on the territory’s 59 remaining colonial postboxes, on the grounds they are an “inappropriate” symbol of the past.
Chinese investors meanwhile shrugged off signals of lower economic growth from mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who said annual expansion of only 6.5 percent would be enough.
“We still have a few uncertainties over when United States interest rates will start to climb but it seems the clouds of pessimism around China’s economy is starting to clear”, said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist in Sydney at CMC Markets Plc.
In Shenzhen, Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group, down 6.4 percent to 3.65 yuan; BOE Technology, down 3.0 percent to 2.89 yuan and Suning Appliance, up 1.2 percent to 16.46 yuan were among the most actively traded.
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Yellen’s comments pushed the USA dollar higher. Stocks have recovered almost all of their losses from the summer, financial markets have calmed in China and elsewhere, and the U.S. economy continues to slowly improve. Gold fell $7.90 to $1,106.20 an ounce, silver lost 18 cents to $15.06 an ounce and copper edged down less than a penny to $2.32 a pound. After Japan markets closed, the firm posted a 6.9% increase in its net profit for the July-to-September period, as solid vehicle sales in the US offset weak auto sales in Japan.
