HKEx, China stocks retreat after clarifications over stock connect plan

THE share price of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEx) retreated from its earlier highs after the bourse clarified that no agreement has been entered into with its Chinese counterparts on the proposed Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect programme.

HKEx shares had rallied 8 per cent earlier on Wednesday in anticipation the scheme would boost turnover. However, the rally was short-lived. HKEx shares are now only up 4 per cent around HK$207.2 after the exchange said the scheme "is still subject to regulatory approval and no agreement with our counterparts has been entered into".

China's central bank had unintentionally sparked the rally earlier by publishing five-month-old comments from governor Zhou Xiaochuan that said a link between exchanges in Shenzhen and Hong Kong would start in 2015. The People's Bank of China later issued a qualifier to the announcement.

Hong Kong's main index fell one per cent after lunch, but is still up 2.24 per cent at 23,044.19 as of 03:27pm.

The H-share index - which tracks Hong Kong-listed mainland blue chips - finished the morning session up 3.84 per cent, but is now trading around 10,578.52, up 2.87 per cent.