The new ETF tracks a Hong Kong index provided by Hang Seng that includes the 35 largest Hong-Kong listed companies which derive the majority of their revenue outside of China’s mainland market.
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The lead from Wall Street is positive as stocks moved higher on Tuesday, offsetting the pullback in the previous session. The blue-chip benchmark was supported by a rally in the insurance and banking sectors. Ping An Insurance surged 2.53 per cent to a three-month high of HK$38.5.
Resources shares were also strong, inspired by a rally in global commodity prices as investors bet China’s tentative economic recovery would spur demand for materials including steel, copper and aluminium.
KEEPING SCORE: Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock index fell 0.4 percent to 15,751.13 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1 percent lower to 5,013.20.
Reflecting improving risk appetite, an index tracking mainland investors’ confidence in the stock market rose to 54.7 in March, up 12.1 percent from a month earlier, and exceeding 50 for the first time since December. China Petroleum & Chemical shares slid 0.59 per cent to 5.05 yuan.
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But following the disappearance over recent months of four Hong Kong booksellers, who had published and sold books critical of China’s leaders, critics say the city’s police appear to have been largely kept in the dark by the mainland Chinese authorities. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just beneath the 3,025-point plateau, although the market is expected to bounce higher again on Wednesday. China’s trade data is “significantly higher than expected in March, which could continue to boost the risk sentiment in the short term”, wrote Zhou Hao, economist at Commerzbank AG. Exports jumped in March, data Wednesday showed, before the government releases quarterly economic data on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index rose 1.06 per cent or 187.03 points to 17,908.28, while the Nasdaq rose 1.55 per cent or 75.33 points to 4,947.42.
