Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks continued to rally on Monday, shrugging off much weaker-than-expected Chinese export data.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index faded 2.17 points to 19,905.64, with the U.S. dollar buying ¥120.74 compared with ¥120.30 in the previous session.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rallied 743.95 points, or 2.7 %, to 28,106.34, extending an eight-day winning streak, after a 7.9% jump last week. The index on Monday settled above 28,000 for the first time since December 2007.
The gains came despite sharp falls in China’s imports and exports, announced earlier in the day. The nation’s exports fell 15% in March from a year earlier, widely missing projections of a 10% rise, official data showed. Imports fell 12.7% year-on-year in the same month, compared with a 12% estimated drop.
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. the city’s sole bourse operator, soared 19.4%, after reports said China would increase daily quotas under the Hong Kong-Shanghai Stock Connect program for direct share-trading between the two markets.
Currently, mainland investors can only buy 10.5 billion yuan ($1.7 billion U.S.) of Hong Kong stocks a day via the Stock Connect, while Hong Kong investors have a daily quota of 13 billion yuan.
Haitong International Securities Group Ltd. leapt 22.8%, First Shanghai Investments Ltd. soared 17.7%, and Guotai Junan International Holdings Ltd. cracked higher by 10.2%.
However, Hong Kong retailers retreated broadly after China announced a new internal visa policy Monday that will cut visits to Hong Kong by residents from the neighboring city of Shenzhen. Cosmetics chain store Bonjour Holdings Ltd. sank 7.1%, and rival Sa Sa International Holdings Ltd. slid 6.2%.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 hiked 76.66 points, or 1.8%, to 4,421.07
Mainland bank China Merchants Bank spiked 24.8%, after it announced a massive employee stock-incentive plan over the weekend, raising up to six billion yuan ($960 million U.S.) through a private placement.
Meantime, shares of brokerage firms surged after China Securities Depository and Clearing Corp. said mainland investors would be allowed to open up to 20 stock-trading accounts, effective on Monday.
In other markets
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index added 12.01 points, or 0.4%, to 3,484.39
The Kospi index in Korea gained 11.16 points, or 0.5%, to 2,098.92
In Taiwan, the Taiex index gained 48.82 points, or 0.5%, to 9,666.52
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 eked up 6.96 points, or 0.1%, to 5,854.32
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 8.10 points, or 0.1%, to 5,960.27
