Vice Finance Minister Facilitates Broader Bid, Which Fades From Best Levels

MNI (London) - Comments from the Chinese Vice Finance Minister promoted some outperformance vs. global peers, although the CSI 300 & Hang Seng finished shy of best levels, +0.1% & +0.5%, respectively.

• The chip sector and broader tech sub-indices benefitted from the Vice Finance Minister’s focus on continued development/investment in that space. The Hang Seng Tech index extended away from the 3,000 level as a result.
• More widely, his comments re: the continued deployment of fiscal policy (at the “necessary intensity”) with the aim of facilitating a recovery in domestic demand helped buoy wider sentiment, before questions surrounding the efficacy of already deployed policy support/a want for more remerged and pushed the benchmarks away from best levels.
• Caixin manufacturing PMI data met wider expectations, with the expectation seen in January matching the December reading, providing little impulse for markets.
• Some tourism-related names benefitted from a positive brokerage move.
• Mainland property developers struggled, with Y/Y sales data for January weighing, although HK’s equivalent sub-index recovered from lows despite news of a jump in “underwater mortgages.”
• Net HK-China Stock Connect flows remained in minor positive territory (~CNY2.7bn).
• After market news of another uptick in PSL lending in January may provide some support on Friday.