HK, Regional Shares Up On Cautious Optimism

Most regional markets headed north on the first trading day of August, as investors hunted for bargains while weighing the impact of Beijing's recent regulatory moves and the spread of the Delta coronavirus strain.

Locally, the Hang Seng Index opened Monday in positive territory but then slipped into the red. It managed to rebound before lunch and kept most of its gains throughout the afternoon to finish up 274 points, or 1.1 percent, at 26,235, on turnover of HK$166.9 billion.

Mainland carmakers fared well after state media said the central government has pledged to support the development of new energy vehicles. BYD Company surged eight percent to become the top performer on the benchmark. Geely Auto rallied more than three percent.

HSBC rose as much as five percent before its interim results announcement, but gave back part of those gains in the afternoon to close up 0.9 percent.

It's subsidiary, Hang Seng Bank, narrowed its gains to end 0.6 percent higher, after the local lender reported a four percent drop in interim net profit.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing jumped 4.3 percent, as a higher stamp duty on stock trading of 0.13 percent took effect and following an announcement by US regulators requiring mainland firms looking to list in the country to disclose their risk of Beijing interfering in their businesses.

CLP Holdings declined 1.3 percent, after the electricity provider posted a 23 percent fall in interim net profit.

Shares across the border rebounded as well, despite a private sector survey showing that factory activity growth slowed. The Shanghai Composite Index gained two percent, while the blue-chip CSI300 index put on 2.6 percent. The Shenzhen Composite added 2.2 percent.

Taiwan was lifted by aviation shares to finish 1.5 percent higher. Japan's Nikkei rose 1.8 percent. The Kospi in South Korea was 0.7 percent firmer. Australia put on 1.3 percent. But Singapore skidded 0.2 percent.