China shares extend losses; Hong Kong rises on potential mortgage cut
Updates to the close
SHANGHAI, Sept 13 (Reuters) -Mainland China's shares extended losses to end lower on Friday as investors squared their books for the upcoming holidays, while Hong Kong stock markets climbed on hopes that Beijing will deliver an imminent cut in its outstanding mortgage rate.
** Mainland China markets will be closed on Monday and Tuesday for the Mid-Autumn Festival, while Hong Kong will be closed on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
** President Xi Jinping on Thursday urged China to strive to achieve its annual economic and social development goals and tasks, raising market hopes for further policy stimulus.
** China's top legislative body has approved a proposal to raise the country's retirement age, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday, accelerating an overhaul of decades-old laws to tackle the economic pressure of a shrinking workforce.
** At the close, the Shanghai Composite index .SSEC was down 0.48% at 2,704.09 points, the lowest closing price since Feb. 5.
** The blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 was down 0.42% at 3,159.25 points, the weakest close since Jan 2019. The financial sector sub-index .CSI300FS was flat, the consumer staples sector .CSI000912 dropped nearly 2%, the real estate index .CSI000952 inched 0.36% higher,while the healthcare sub-index .CSI300HC lost 0.59%.
** The smaller Shenzhen index .SZSC ended down 1.08% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index .CNT was weaker by 1.073%.
** Property shares rose after Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources, that China is poised to cut interest rates on more than $5 trillion of outstanding mortgages as early as this month. Hong Kong's Hang Seng mainland properties index .HSMPI rose 1.19% at the midday break.
** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index .HSI was up 128.70 points, or 0.75%, at 17,369.09 points. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index .HSCE rose 0.9% to 6,071.52 points.
** Markets were anxiously awaiting more August data due later this week, including credit lending and activity indicators, to better gauge the health of the local economy.
** Market focus will also shift to the upcoming Federal Reserve policy meeting. The U.S. central bank is all but certain to cut rates next week, although uncertainty around whether it will cut rates by 25 or 50 basis points has kept investors on the edge.
** "Even though Fed's rate cuts could be a positive catalyst, solid fundamentals would be a prerequisite for China equities to rebound," analysts at HSBC Qianhai Securities said in a note.
"But earnings pressure remains strong post interim results, with consensus 2024 earnings forecasts for A-share companies revised down by 14.1% year-to-date. If this pattern persists, Fed easing may not be enough to boost China equities."
Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips
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