Shanghai, Hong Kong: Stocks edge higher on dovish Fed stance

[SHANGHAI] China and Hong Kong stocks rose on Thursday morning, after the US Federal Reserve took a more accommodative stance at its policy meeting.

The CSI300 index rose 0.2 per cent, to 3,844.25 points, at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.6 per cent, to 3,109.48 points.

The Hang Seng index added 0.2 per cent, to 29,370.02 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 0.5 per cent, to 11,683.39.

In comments at the end of a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, the Fed abandoned projections for any interest rate hikes this year amid signs of an economic slowdown, and said it would halt the steady decline of its balance sheet in September.

Meanwhile, there are concerns about valuations as major Chinese stock indexes trade near nine-month highs, amid lingering concerns about trade talks with the United States.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned that Washington may leave tariffs on Chinese goods for a "substantial period" to ensure Beijing's compliance with any trade deal.

China-US trade talks are set to resume next week.

The yuan was quoted at 6.6828 per US dollar, 0.17 per cent firmer than the previous close of 6.6943.

The largest percentage gainers on the main Shanghai Composite index were Gansu Yasheng Industrial Group Co, up 10.14 per cent, followed by Baiyin Nonferrous Group Co, gaining 10.09 per cent, and Xinjiang Tianfu Energy Co, up by 10.07 per cent.

The largest percentage losers on the Shanghai index were Guangzhou Restaurant Co, down 7.89 per cent, followed by Jiangsu Luokai Mechanical & Electrical Co, losing 5.77 per cent, and Zhejiang Dafeng Industrial Co, down by 5.66 per cent.

So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is up 23.93 per cent, while China's H-share index is up 14.8 per cent. Shanghai stocks have risen 5.09 per cent this month.

Top gainers among H-shares were New China Life Insurance Co, up 10.17 per cent, followed by CSPC Pharmaceutical Group, gaining 4.28 per cent, and Anhui Conch Cement Co, up by 3.51 per cent.

The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were China Resources Land, which has fallen 1.50 per cent, Hengan International Group Company, which has lost 0.5 per cent, and Huatai Securities Co, down by 0.4 per cent.

About 22.59 billion shares have traded so far on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 62.8 per cent of the market's 30-day moving average of 36.00 billion shares a day. The volume traded was 35.86 billion as of the last full trading day.

As of 04.31 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 24.33 per cent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares.

REUTERS