SINGAPORE- Mainland Chinese stocks returned from an extended break with a roaring start on Tuesday, though the optimism did not spill into regional share markets as Beijing fell short on delivering more details of its massive stimulus.
Hong Kong stocks, in particular, tumbled on Tuesday, reversing some of the rally they enjoyed while China’s markets were closed for the week-long National Day holiday.
China’s CSI300 blue-chip index surged 10 percent in early trade to its strongest since July 2022, while the Shanghai Composite Index jumped roughly the same amount to its highest mark since December 2021.
But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 7.6 percent, with the Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index falling more than 10 percent.
That left MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 2.2 percent.
“I think the movement today basically just explains that in the Chinese onshore market, it’s just rising to a level that investors are comfortable with. And in Hong Kong, there may be a bit of a profit-taking or breaking even move,” said Gary Ng, a senior economist at Natixis.
Mainland shares also erased some of their early gains over the course of the trading day, after the chairman of China’s economic planner Zheng Shanjie provided little detail of how the country plans to roll out its support measures at a closely watched press conference on Tuesday.
That disappointed investors, especially those who were hoping for more specifics on fiscal measures to stimulate the ailing Chinese economy.
The CSI300 index was last up 4.3 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index retreated slightly to last trade 3.34 percent higher.
“Markets were hoping to obtain some guidance on the size of fiscal stimulus at this presser — but with MoF (Ministry of Finance) not in attendance, it was unlikely this information was going to be provided,” said Rong Ren Goh, a portfolio manager at Eastspring Investments.
“What’s next? No major press briefing lined up so far. Thus, it is likely we see markets consolidating and digesting what has already been announced, which arguably is meaningful, but not quite enough to satiate lofty expectations.”
