SHANGHAI, Sept 29 (Reuters) – China stocks edged up on Tuesday, after the country’s cabinet pledged to step up counter-cyclical policy support to address rising economic strains, though trading remained thin ahead of an upcoming holiday. Hong Kong shares fell.
** China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index was roughly flat by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.1%. Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was down 0.6%.
** China’s real estate developers led gains onshore, with Vanke shares up nearly 8%, after the State Council meeting vowed to roll out measures to stabilise the property market.
** “We expect policymakers to further broaden the use of housing provident funds to slightly reduce weighted-average mortgage rates, and more large cities to introduce local housing easing measures,” analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a note.
** Sentiment among AI component makers rebounded slightly, with the 5G Communication Index up 0.8% and the tech-focused STAR50 Index rising 0.6%.
** Rising US Treasury yields, coupled with insufficient liquidity ahead of the week-long holiday, weighed on the market sentiment, analysts at Northeast Securities said in a note.
** “However, after the sharp declines, with negative sentiment quickly running its course, quality assets have become more attractively valued again,” the analysts said.
** China’s week-long National Day holiday will start on Thursday, with onshore trading resuming on October 8.
** The Hang Seng Innovative Drug Index rose 3.3%.
** Tech majors listed in Hong Kong fell 1.4%.
** Shares of fast-fashion platform Shein Global Holdings fell to their lowest level since the firm’s debut on September 1.
(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
