China stocks higher on materials, shipping gains; Hong Kong flat

Minsheng Education

17/08/2017 05:55

* SSEC +0.4 pct, CSI300 +0.4 pct, HSI 0.0 pct 
    * Materials, shipping and shipbuilding firms rise 
    * Cathay Pacific up 2.1 pct despite heavy H1 loss 
 
    SHANGHAI, Aug 17 (Reuters) - China stock indexes rose on 
Thursday as materials firms won back ground lost in the previous 
session, but weakness in technology and consumer non-cyclicals 
kept a lid on gains.  
    The CSI300 index  .CSI300  advanced 0.4 percent, to 3,714.46 
points at the end of the morning session. The Shanghai Composite 
Index  .SSEC  also gained 0.4 percent, to 3,258.91 points.  
    China CSI300 stock index futures for August rose 0.4 
percent, to 3,706.8, or 7.66 points below the current value of 
the underlying index.  
    "The Shanghai index faces resistance at the 3,300-point 
level," said Li Zheming, an analyst at Daton Securities. "Since 
the beginning of August, we've seen strength in consumer and 
cyclical sectors, but it's not clear that the strength is 
sustainable." 
    The materials sub-index  .CSI300MT  was 0.9 percent higher, 
and non-ferrous metal producer Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan 
Nonfemet Co Ltd  000060.SZ  jumped 5.8 percent. 
    Shipping and shipbuilding companies were also higher, with 
their prospects lifted as the Baltic Exchange's main sea freight 
index rose for a 13th straight session.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1L247W 
    COSCO Shipping Holdings Co Ltd  601919.SS  gained 5.7 
percent and China CSSC Holdings Ltd  600150.SS  surged 7.7 
percent. 
    In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index  .HSI  was unchanged at 
27,408.66 points as declines for financials and property 
developers offset advances in other sectors as investors 
digested major earnings releases and company announcements. 
    The Hong Kong China Enterprises Index  .HSCE  lost 0.4 
percent, to 10,773.45. 
    Hang Lung Properties Ltd  0101.HK  was 1.6 percent lower, 
and AIA Group Ltd  1299.HK  was down 1.5 percent. 
    Cathay Pacific  0293.HK  climbed 2.1 percent despite 
reporting a net loss of HK$2.05 billion ($262.07 million), its 
worst first-half result in at least two decades. Analysts said 
they believe losses have bottomed out.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1L31KO 
    Tencent Holdings Ltd  0700.HK  rose 3.5 percent after 
announcing a 70-percent rise in Q2 profit on Wednesday. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1L12OU 
    Shares of Minsheng Education Group Co Ltd  1569.HK  were up 
17.3 percent. They rose as much as 24 percent to three-week 
highs on news the company will be included in the Hang Seng 
Composite Index  .HSCI .  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1L31HT  
    Pork producer WH Group  0288.HK , which  will join the Hang 
Seng Index on Sept. 4, was 3.1 percent higher.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nH9N1JS01R 
    The index measuring price differences between dual-listed 
companies in Shanghai and Hong Kong  .HSCAHPI  stood at 128.47. 
    A value above 100 indicates Shanghai shares are pricing at a 
premium to shares in the same company trading in Hong Kong, and 
vice versa. 
 
($1 = 7.8222 Hong Kong dollars) 
 
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China stock market graphics suite     http://reut.rs/1NfkoGl 
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 (Reporting by Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Richard Borsuk) 
 ((Andrew.Galbraith@tr.com; +86 21 6104 1779; Reuters Messaging: 
andrew.galbraith.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net ; Twitter: https://twitter.com/apgalbraith)) 
 
Keywords: CHINA STOCKS/MIDDAY