Tuesday, August 19, 2008

ASIA MARKETS: Shanghai, Hong Kong Stocks Surge

By V. Phani Kumar

Chinese stocks in Shanghai and Hong Kong soared Wednesday, shaking off weak sentiment that hurt their performance over the last several days, on speculation the mainland government was considering a fiscal stimulus package.

China's Shanghai Composite jumped 5.8% to 2,479.31 in morning trading, adding on to its 1.1% advance Tuesday.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng China Enterprises climbed 3.1% to 11,045.52, while the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 1.7% to 20,836.47.

The gains came after Chinese vice-premier Li Keqiang Tuesday said that there was a need to increase household incomes and rural consumption, to cope with a weakening global economy, according to reports.

But some analysts were skeptical the market gains could be sustained.

"I think it's just a technical bounce and the trend is still downward," said Linus Yip, strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong. "I think a stimulus package won't be able to give an instant boost to the Chinese economy, which is passing through a difficult time," he added.

Meanwhile, the Nikkei 225 Average gave up 0.3% to 12,828.54 and the broader Topix index fell 0.5% to 1,229.23.

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