Hong Kong market closes down while China stocks enter bull territory, up 20pc since January

Chinese stocks have entered bull market territory thanks to positive economic data with the Shanghai Composite Index climbing more than 20 per cent since January, but the positive sentiment didn’t stretch to Hong Kong markets which closed lower on Friday despite US stocks hitting record highs overnight.

The Hang Seng Index finished the day down 1.35 per cent or 308.02 points to 22,531.09, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dropped 1.18 per cent or 112.48 points to 9,433.37.

The Shanghai Composite Index has been climbing for five consecutive weeks – its longest stretch of gains since May 2015, according to Bloomberg.

Chinese markets have been driven up by positive sentiment on the back of positive economic data and the upcoming launch of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong stock connect which is due to begin later this month, Gordon Tsui Luen-on, Hantec Group international finance director, told the Post.

But Hong Kong’s markets were dragged down on Friday by the surprise election of Donald Trump as US president, which created uncertainty over policy changes, he said.

Chinese banks were mostly lower as new data showed that the ratio of non-performing loans rose by the end of the third quarter. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China fell 1.29 per cent to HK$4.60 while the Bank of China slipped 1.16 per cent to HK$3.42.