Hong Kong Stocks Snag Modest Gains, As Mainland Names Rebound

Hong Kong stocks notched moderate gains Monday morning, with shares of mainland Chinese companies rebounding after losses at the end of last week. The benchmark Hang Seng Index added 0.5%, while the mainland-China-tracking Hang Seng China Enterprises Index recovered 0.8% following two straight day of declines. Mainland Chinese markets were closed for a public holiday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index having sunk 13.3% last week. In Hong Kong, online major Tencent Holdings Ltd. advanced 0.8% after China's State Council issued guidelines Saturday about promoting the development of cross-border e-commerce business among Chinese companies and encouraging Chinese banks and payment organizations to develop yuan-denominated e-payment services for those activities. Among smaller tech firms, online-transaction-service provider China Binary Sale Technology Ltd. jumped 3.8%. Chinese banks also traded mostly higher, as Bank of China Ltd. moved up by 1.2%, shrugging off reports that Italian prosecutors were seeking to charge the bank's Milan branch in connection with a money-laudering case. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. improved by 1%, Bank of Communications Co. tacked on 0.8%, and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. edged up 0.2%. Among other market movers, electric-vehicle and battery maker BYD Co. climbed 3.6% after Daiwa Securities rated the shares outperform for the first time. Among other blue-chip movers, telecoms giant China Mobile Ltd. zoomed 1.7% higher, and China Life Insurance Co. improved by 1.1%.