By Laura He, MarketWatch
Shanghai stocks climb to a near eight-month high
China stocks buck weaker regional trend
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks rebounded on Monday,
bucking a weaker regional trend, as financial stocks rallied on the
upcoming test of a scheme to allow cross-trading of Shanghai and
Hong Kong shares.
The Hang Seng Index ended up 0.3%, recovering from a retreat on
Friday.
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing , the city's stock-exchange
operator, said it planned to conduct later this month a
connectivity test and market rehearsals for the Shanghai-Hong Kong
Stock Connect, a scheme to allow direct stock trading between the
two markets. Shares of the bourse operator advanced 1.8%.
Brokerage firms saw solid gains across the sector, with First
Shanghai Investments surging 18.1%. Among other gainers, China
Everbright jumped14.8%, CITIC Securities Co. was up 6.9%, Shenyin
Wanguo increased 6.8%, and Haitong Securities Co. rose 5.7%.
Meanwhile, Fosun International improved 0.7%, after news that
the conglomerate has made an offer for Australia's Roc Oil Co.
.
Shares in HSBC Holdings retreated 0.9% before the announced its
first-half results, which came after market close. The bank
Sino-British banking giant said first-half net profit fell as
business slowed in some key Asian markets and in investment
banking. Local bank Hang Seng Bank added 0.3% ahead of its interim
earnings.
Over on the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index rose
even higher, climbing 1.7% to a near eight-month high of
2,223.33.
However, other major Asian markets were weaker. Japan's Nikkei
Average dropped 0.3%, losing for a third day, while the broader
Topix index fell 0.4%.
The yen (USDJPY), meanwhile, traded unchanged at 102.59 against
the dollar.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 finished 0.3% lower, and New
Zealand's Nzx 50 closed down 0.4%.
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