August 11, 2020 / 11:35 AM
Hong Kong stocks rise over 2% as consumer firms rally; China up
* SSEC 0.3%, CSI300 0.7%, HSI 2.4%
* HK->Shanghai Connect daily quota used 5.6%, Shanghai->HK daily quota used 1.5%
* FTSE China A50 +1.2%
SHANGHAI, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares rose the most in more than a month on Tuesday, as investors scooped up consumer stocks reliant on demand from mainland China amid signs of a recovery in the world's second-largest economy and rising Sino-U.S. tensions.
By the lunch break, the Hang Seng index was up 2.4% at 24,962.48 points, marking its biggest intraday percentage rise since July 6. The Hong Kong China Enterprises Index firmed 2.3% to 10,217.11.
Leading the gains, the Hang Seng consumer discretionary index jumped as much as 3.1% to its highest in nearly seven months, with Chinese hot-pot restaurant chain operator Haidilao International Holding surging 11.9% to a record peak.
"Investors are shifting their focus to consumer players that benefit from China's robust domestic demand, as they are less impacted by the Sino-U.S. tensions," said Linus Yip, chief strategist at First Shanghai Group.
China is looking to reduce its reliance on overseas markets and technology for its economic development, government advisers say, as U.S. hostility and a pandemic increase external risks that could hamper longer-term progress.
Adding to signs of a recovery in the world's second-largest economy, data on Monday showed China's factory deflation eased in July as global oil prices rose and industrial activity climbed back towards pre-coronavirus levels.
Market participants are relatively confident in China's economic recovery, which is faster than other major economies, Linus said.
By the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index firmed 0.33% to 3,390.37 points, while China's blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.66%.
The tech-heavy start-up board ChiNext added 0.2%, while the newly-launched

STAR

50 eased 1.2%.
Around the region, MSCI 's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 1.10%, while Japan's Nikkei index was up 1.77%.
The yuan was quoted at 6.95 per U.S. dollar, 0.17% firmer than the previous close of 6.9621.
As of 0358 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 36.35% over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. (Reporting by Luoyan Liu and Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Aditya Soni)

Sumber : Reuters