Hong Kong shares jump to 31-month peak
Updates to market close
SINGAPORE, Oct 4 (Reuters) -Hong Kong stocks rose nearly 3% on Friday toclose at their highest level since March 2022, still cheering China's massive economic stimulus proposals, while other global markets were skittish about escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Asian stocks fell, and oil prices were headed for their sharpest weekly gain in two years on those tensions and as investors awaited a U.S. jobs report later in the day.
Chinese ADRs .HXC fell more than 2% overnight.
Mainland markets are closed for a week-long National Day break.
They had rallied strongly on Monday, ahead of the holiday, as retail investors rushed to buy stocks after Beijing announced its most aggressive stimulus measures since the pandemic, ranging from outsized rate cuts to fiscal support, in an attempt to shore up its ailing economy.
The Hang Seng index .HSI ended the session up 623.36 points or 2.82% at 22,736.87. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index .HSCE rose 3.06% to 8,156.5.
The Hang Seng Index is up 25% since Sept. 24, when Beijing kicked off rate cuts, and roughly 33% for the year, and has dethroned Taiwan to become Asia's best-performing stock market.
Particularly in a boost for stocks, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) introduced two fresh tools to shore up the capital market, one of which includes a swap programme allowing funds, insurers and brokers easier access to funding.
That lit a fire under beaten-down Chinese equities that had been languishing near multi-year lows as recently as early this month, as investors fretted over China's growth prospects.
"While the details of the scheme have not even been published yet, the announcement effect has been powerful," Jefferies analyst Chrisopher Wood said.
"This is because mainland investors now assume that a rising stock market has become part of the PBOC’s KPI, whereas before this was strictly the responsibility of the CSRC, China’s securities regulator."
China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index .CSI300 soared 25% over five days from Sept. 24, its strongest gain for such a period on record.
The CSI 300 and the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC also notched their biggest single-day percentage gains on Sept. 30.
The top gainer on the Hang Seng was Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp 0981.HK, which gained 29.31%.
The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares .HSCIE rose 3.2%, while the IT sector .HSCIIT rose 3.98%.
China's benchmark stock index logs biggest daily gain since 2008 https://reut.rs/3ZQNtV0
China's benchmark stock index logs biggest daily gain since 2008 https://reut.rs/4dmrDfq
Reporting by Vidya Ranganathan and Summer Zhen; Editing by Varun H K
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