Bloomberg ( 18/10 ) -- Hong Kong stocks rose, with the benchmark index
heading for a two-week advance, after data today showed China’s economic
growth accelerated. Shares also climbed on speculation the Federal
Reserve will maintain stimulus in the wake of the U.S. budget showdown.Sands
China Ltd., a unit of billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas casino
company, jumped 6.2 percent after third-quarter profit surged. Zhaojin
Mining Industry Co., China’s No. 2 gold producer, climbed 2.3 percent as
prices for the precious metal jumped on expectations the Fed will delay
cutting asset purchases. AIA Group Ltd., the second-largest Asia-based
insurer by market value, rose 2.7 percent as the value of its new
business rose.The Hang Seng Index gained 0.7 percent to
23,246.11 as of 10:12 a.m. in Hong Kong, headed for a 0.1 percent
advance this week. About twice as many shares climbed as fell on the
50-member gauge on volume 33 percent below the 30-day intraday average.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, also known as the H-share index,
added 0.6 percent to 10,633.17.China’s gross domestic product
expanded 7.8 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the
National Bureau of Statistics said in Beijing today, matching
economists’ estimates. Other data also showed industrial production rose
10.2 percent in September from a year earlier, while retail sales
climbed 13.3 percent.The Hang Seng Index climbed 17 percent from
this year’s low in June through yesterday as economic data showed
China’s growth is stabilizing and after the Fed unexpectedly refrained
from cutting asset purchases. Hong Kong’s equity benchmark traded at 11
times estimated earnings yesterday, compared with 15.7 for the Standard
& Poor’s 500 Index.Futures on the Hang Seng Index rose 1
percent to 23,198. The Hang Seng Volatility Index dropped 4.8 percent to
16.12, indicating traders expect the benchmark equity index to swing
4.6 percent in the next 30 days.
