ALBAWABA – Most major China stocks rose Tuesday as China announced extending its real estate financial rescue package to boost its economy, news agencies reported.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index gained 1.8 percent, while China's CSI 300 Real Estate Index edged up 0.1 percent. While Sunac China,Logan Group and KWG Group, listed in Hong Kong, were among the top gainers, rising 4-5 percent, according to Reuters.
Last November, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) put in place 16 measures to support the cash-strapped real estate sector, including loan repayment extensions, to ease a deepening liquidity crisis.
This is the latest in a series of stimuli from the Chinese government to reinvigorate the economy and boost local demand.
"China's latest policy support toward the property sector was a bit surprising – given the low expectations on the property market," Zhou Hao of Guotai Junan International Holdings told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 edged higher, with Amazon.com Inc. rising about 1 percent as its Prime Day sale got underway, Bloomberg reported.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index was on track for a third day of gains, after Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau said the European Central Bank is nearly finished hiking. All the while noting that interest rates will stay at “high plateau” for some time.
Key market figures by AFP
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,258.23 points
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 15,720.02
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.8 percent at 7,203.24
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.5 percent at 4,277.18
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 32,203.57 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.0 percent at 18,659.83 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,221.37 (close)
New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 33,944.40 (close)
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2927 from $1.2859 on Monday
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1007 from $1.1006
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 140.36 yen from 141.33 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.16 pence from 85.53 pence
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.4 percent $77.97 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $73.32 per barrel
