The Hong Kong stock market kicked off the month on a positive note on Monday, 01 August 2016, after data this morning painted a somewhat encouraging picture of the Chinese economy. The official gauge of manufacturing activity slipped into contractionary territory in July, to a reading of 49.9 from 50 in June, the level that separates expansion from contraction, while the reading on the services sector improved to 53.9 last month. There was an even better reading from the privately-prepared Caixin-Markit PMI gauge for manufacturing, which jumped to 50.6 in July from 48.6, comfortably beating expectations. The benchmark Hang Seng Index advanced 237.77 points, or 1.09%, to 22129.14 points. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, benchmark measure of performance of mainland China enterprises, grew 170.23 points, or 1.9%, to 9129.20. Market turnover decreased to HK$63.4 billion from HK$68 billion on Friday.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
