China shares hit their highest levels in more than seven years Monday, bucking weakness in the region amid concerns about a U.S. interest rate increase later this year.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index dropped 3.71 points to 20,457.19,
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index took on 56.12 points, or 0.2%, to 27,316.28.
In Japan, investors didn’t react much to revised data showing that Japan’s gross domestic product grew at an grew at an annualized rate of 3.9% in the January-March period, sharply up from a preliminary reading of 2.4%.
In Taiwan, HTC Corp. fell 9.9%--to its lowest in a decade—after the smartphone maker cut its June quarter sales forecast and said it expects to report a net loss amid sluggish phone sales.
CHINA
The Shanghai CSI 300 picked up 122.53 points, or 2.3%, to 5,353.75, adding to a nearly 9% gain last week, buoyed by expectation of reform in the financial sector and further loosening of monetary policy. The benchmark closed at 5131.88, after breaking the 5000 mark on Friday for the first time since January 2008.
Analysts say inflation data due Tuesday from China could indicate whether the government will roll out additional stimulus.
Buying from last week continued even after China’s securities watchdog said late Friday it would amend rules on margin trading, which allows investors to use borrowed cash to make bets in the stock market. Fears about a clampdown on the practice have churned up volatility in China’s market recently, sending the Shanghai benchmark down as much as 6% last Thursday.
Monday’s gains also come ahead of a decision by MSCI Inc. Tuesday whether to include Chinese domestic stocks in its indexes, which are tracked by billions of dollars of global funds and could draw millions of new investors into Chinese shares.
Caught up in the momentum of China’s domestic rally is train maker CRRC Corp. which rose to its 10% limit in Shanghai earlier Monday and gained 4.5% in Hong Kong. The company, formed from a merger between CSR Corp. and CNR Corp. is now the world’s second largest industrial company after General Electric
In other markets
In Korea, the Kospi index dipped 2.91 points, or 0.1%, to 2,065.19
In Taiwan, the Taiex recovered 28.30 points, or 0.3%, to 9,368.43
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index lost 13.34 points, or 0.4%, to 3,320.33
The NZX 50 gained 17.91 points, or 0.3%, to 5,885.81
Markets in Australia were closed for holiday
.
