Hong Kong stocks rise as China’s consumer prices boost investor confidence
China’s consumer price index rose 0.2 per cent year on year last month, the most since January, according to official data
Hong Kong stocks rose on Monday as investors bet on easing deflation pressures after China’s consumer prices returned to growth in October.
The Hang Seng Index closed 1.6 per cent higher at 26,649.06. The Hang Seng Tech Index rose 1.3 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.4 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.
Chinese toymaker Pop Mart International led the gainers, surging 8.1 per cent to HK$221.40. CNOOC, China’s largest offshore oil and gas producer, rose 6 per cent to HK$22.44 and state-owned property management firm China Resources Mixc Lifestyle added 5 per cent to HK$41.76.
China’s consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation, rose by a better-than-expected 0.2 per cent year on year last month, recording its strongest reading since January, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Sunday.
However, analysts said it was mostly boosted by October’s national day holiday spending and that it could be temporary.
“The CPI was a bit of a surprise to the market,” said Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. “[But], I think it is too early to conclude that deflation is over.”