Hong Kong, Oct 2, 2024 (AFP)
Hong Kong stocks closed up more than six percent Wednesday as developers soared higher after China unveiled a raft of measures to boost its economy, particularly the troubled property sector.
The Hang Seng Index climbed 6.20 percent, or 1,310.05 points, to 22,443.73.
Traders in the city and on mainland bourses have been rushing to snap up stocks since China last week began unveiling measures aimed at kickstarting the country's struggling economy, with an emphasis on real estate.
The industry has had a torrid time since Beijing in 2020 embarked on a crackdown on excessive borrowing and rampant speculation, with some developers undergoing restructuring after defaults.
But the government last week began announcing moves to revive the sector, including interest rate cuts, help for mortgage holders and easing of home-buying rules.
Developers led the rally in Wednesday's surge, with Agile Group leaping 160 percent higher, Sunac China Holdings rocketing more than 75 percent and Fantasia Holdings up 118 percent.
However, the firms' valuations are still a fraction of what they were three years ago.
Heron Lim, assistant director-economist at Moody's Analytics, said Beijing's previous attempts to boost the property market had underwhelmed investors.
This time "there seems to be a stronger political will involved in resolving the ills plaguing the Chinese property market, pushing the latest rally", Lim said.
The Hang Seng Mainland Property Index surged 14.9 percent, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index closed 7.1 percent higher for a 13th day of gains.
A gauge of Chinese real estate stocks by Bloomberg Intelligence spiked as much as 31 percent on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg News.
Gary Ng, a senior economist at Natixis, said it remained to be seen if China's real estate industry would improve as much as the market was pricing it to.
"With the elevated inventory level in non-Tier-1 cities, the challenges remain despite some improvements in larger cities," Ng told AFP.
Debt-ridden residential developer China Vanke rose 61.1 percent Wednesday, while Longfor Group gained 24.7 percent.
Also among the big gainers were developers Shimao Group, which jumped 153 percent, and Kaisa Group, whose shares climbed 47.6 percent. Both companies had previously defaulted.
Tech firms were also well bought, with e-commerce giant JD.com rallying close to 11 percent, Meituan piling on more than 14 percent, and market heavyweight Alibaba adding nearly four percent.
Markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen were closed for a week-long holiday.
dan-hol/smw
Sumber : AFP