Hong Kong Stocks Rally In Post-holiday Catch-up

Hong Kong stocks jumped Wednesday morning, catching up to a previous rally in mainland Chinese markets, as investors returned from a five-day holiday. The Hang Seng Index cracked 2% higher, with the mainland-China-tracking Hang Seng China Enterprises up 3.3%. Over on the mainland, Shanghai markets swung between small gains and losses after hitting a fresh seven-year high on Tuesday, with the Shanghai Composite Index down 0.1%. In Hong Kong, several index heavyweights posted substantial gains, as China Construction Bank Corp. climbed 1.7%, Sino-British banking giant HSBC Holdings plc advanced 1.6%, telecoms giant China Mobile Ltd. rose 1.3%, and Tencent Holdings Ltd. added 1.1%. Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. , the city's sole bourse operator, soared 5.3%. Chinese brokerage firms surged across the board, after Shanghai Stock Exchange announced before the holiday that it would allow individual investors to open multiple stock trading accounts with different brokers. Haitong International Securities Group spiked 14%, Guotai Junan International Holdings Ltd. leapt 12%, and Shenyin Wanguo (HK) Ltd. surfed 10.2% higher. Mainland Chinese banks also shined, as China Citic Bank Corporation Ltd. surged 6.2%, both Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of Communications Co., Ltd. jumped 2.8%, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. climbed 2.4%, and China Minsheng Banking Corp., Ltd. zoomed 2.2% higher.