HK stocks drift higher on US rate outlook; China banks hit record peaks
SINGAPORE, Aug 19 (Reuters) -Hong Kong shares rose on Monday, as traders tracked upbeat momentum in broader Asian markets on the prospect that the U.S. economy would dodge a recession, while signs of state support lifted Shanghai-listed banks to record highs.
** At the midday break, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index .HSI was up 1.06% at 17,614.62.
** The Shanghai Composite index .SSEC was up 0.53% at 2,894.57 points. ** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index .MIAPJ0000PUS advanced 1%, while Japan's Nikkei index .N225 was down 1%. ** China's blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 climbed 0.41%, with its banking sub-index .CSI399986 up 1.3%.
** Shanghai-listed shares of Agriculture Bank of China 601288.SS hit a record high. China Construction Bank 601939.SS rises and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China 601398.SS, the country's biggest lender, rose 1% and was set for a ninth consecutive session of gains.
** Investors are lured by generous dividend payouts by Chinese banks and heavy inflows into a handful of blue-chip exchange-traded funds (ETF) used by state-backed funds also boosted sentiment.
** Gold miners including Chifeng Jilong 600988.SS, Hunan Gold Corp 002155.SZ and Zhongjin Gold 600489.SS jumped after bullion prices hovered near record peaks.
** The top gainers among H-shares were JD Health International Inc 6618.HK, up 7.46%, as positive results at JD.com 9618.HK last week buoyed sentiment about the group.
** "Company specific moves (are moving the market)," said UOB Kay Hian executive director Steven Leung. "We don't see any particular change of the sentiment of the market, or investors. Their view is still quite worried about the economy and the property market."
** U.S. rate cuts are eagerly awaited, said Leung, as Hong Kong's financial system is tied to U.S. rates by the Hong Kong dollar peg.
** U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell speaks in Jackson Hole on Friday and investors assume he will acknowledge the case for a cut. ** The yuan CNY=CFXS was quoted at 7.1462 per U.S. dollar, 0.19% firmer than the previous close of 7.1595. ** So far this year, the Shanghai stock index has lost 2.7% and the CSI300 dropped 2.1%.
** About 16.67 billion shares have traded so far on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 57.9% of the market's 30-day moving average of 28.80 billion shares a day. The volume traded was 26.37 billion, as of the last full trading day.
Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips
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