The more optimistic outlook on the Chinese economy and strong quarterly earnings has helped lift Hong Kong stocks and related exchange traded funds back to pre-financial crisis levels.
The iShares MSCI Hong Kong ETF (NYSEArca: EWH) was up 1.5% Tuesday, trading around $22.4 per share, its highest level since late 2007.
Meanwhile, the Hang Seng Index ended at 25,122.95 Tuesday, the first time the benchmark index closed above 25,000 since May 2008.
“Strong liquidity, better earnings and investors getting more bullish on the Chinese economy” will provide further support for the rally, Steven Leung, director of institutional sales at UOB-Kay Hian Holdings Ltd., said in a Bloomberg article. “Investors are also getting excited about asset injections from Chinese SOEs.”
Property developer China Resources Land Ltd led gains after reporting higher-than-expected core profits, stating that the overall residential market is stabilizing in the second half, Reuters reports.
The financial sector makes up the largest portion of the Hong Kong ETF’s holdings at 60.4% of the overall portfolio.
The Hong Kong market have been playing catch up to other stronger global markets. Hong Kong equities have jumped over 20% from the March lows as speculators anticipated rebound in Chinese growth, following additional mini-stimulus measures enacted.
“Recently looking at the U.S and Europe markets, we have been lagging behind other markets for some time because of the weakness of the Asian market,” Alex Wong, a director at Ample Finance Group, said in a Reuters article.