The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong logged to its fourth consecutive win in eight days to reach a level best seen in a month after the Chinese government announced on Tuesday that its producer and consumer prices jumped sharply in December, showing a good improvement for industrial profits.
Rousing Start
Hong Kong stocks dished out 186.16 points, or 0.8 %, to finish at 22 744.85, the index’s highest close since December 9 last year and marking its fourth consecutive wins in the first two weeks of 2017.
The surge on Tuesday were brought up by the economic figures released by the mainland government, revealing that its producer price index touched its biggest year-on-year increase, tallying 5.5% a year ago in December and smashing the consensus expectations of just 4.5%.
Meanwhile, its consumer price index, which measures the country’s key inflation, was steady at 2.1% from a year ago in December, a bit short from economists’ expectations.
It was a rousing start for the Hang Seng index as the benchmark already registered more than 2.5% climb in just two weeks the year, following a slight increase that capped 2016, proving that China’s economy was showing resilience with its offshore yuan gaining some grounds against the dollar.
This was also driven by impressive performances from casino operators and oil companies. Shares of the Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. and Sands China Ltd. advanced 2.7% as the gaming revenue in Macau regained its poise while the oil company Petro China Co. sit on its 14-month high.