Wall Street rally, energy chips fuel city's advance in shortened trading week

Hong Kong stocks chalked up a third successive day of gains on Wednesday - with only a half-day trading session to go before the Christmas break - boosted by a Wall Street advance and a strong show by energy shares.

Market analysts, however, see no sign of the local equities market extending its upward momentum to year-end with subdued turnover.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index (HSI) was up nearly 1 percent, or 210.57 points, to close at 22,040.59, in response to a rally on Wall Street and a sharp rebound in energy shares after oil prices bounced off 11-year lows.

The local bourse will be open for only a half-day session on Thursday and closed for the Christmas holidays on Friday.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.43 percent to 3,636.09, while the Shenzhen Composite Index dipped 1.2 percent to 2,351.07.

Trading volumes remain thin in the shortened trading week. With just three-and-half days of trading for this week as well as the following week, the local market could hardly expect any big news until January, said Tam Long-wai, research director of Hong Kong-based Fulbright Securities.

"A full-blown Santa Claus rally remains elusive for Hong Kong stocks this year as the lackluster market has not given any impetus for the Hang Seng Index to stay high to year-end," said Hanna Li Wai-han, a strategist at UOB Kay Hian (Hong Kong).

Li said the new cycle of US interest-rate hikes remains the biggest concern among investors in the coming year although the market appears to have calmed down following the first US rate rise in nearly a decade. Worries that the US Federal Reserve's next rate surge in 2016 may be more than expected have continued to mount, triggering fears of a fresh bout of capital flight from Hong Kong and dragging the HSI lower, she noted.

Moreover, the mainland's faltering economy, without any solid sign of a recovery, would exert further pressure on the city. Li believes that the central government's stimulative monetary policies, coupled with the launch of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) and the upcoming Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, will bring some respite.

sophia@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 12/24/2015 page8)