By Laura He, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong stocks bounced back
Wednesday, breaking an eight-day losing streak, after China's
central bank reportedly pumped tens of billions of dollars into the
banking system to spur economic growth in China amid a
worse-than-expected slowdown.
The People's Bank of China is injecting 500 billion yuan ($81
billion) into the country's five major state-owned banks, a move
seen by many as a response to a batch of disappointing economic
data in August, media reports said Wednesday.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rebounded 1%, recouping some losses
after having registered a roughly 4.7% loss over the eight previous
sessions.
Mainland Chinese banks advanced broadly, with Bank of
Communications Co. climbing 2.3%, Industrial & Commercial Bank
of China Ltd. adding 2%, China Construction Bank Corp. rising 1.9%,
Bank of China Ltd. gaining 1.7%, and Agricultural Bank of China
Ltd. tacking on 1.1%.
Telecoms shares also clawed back some ground, after falling hard
a day ago amid reports that the release date of Apple Inc.'s (AAPL)
iPhone 6 in mainland China remains still uncertain. Index
heavyweight China Mobile Ltd. went 1.6% higher, while its smaller
rivals China Telecom Corp. and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. improved
by 1.1% and 0.2%, respectively.
Over on the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5%.
In other Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Average inched down 0.1%,
with the yen (USDJPY) slightly lower against the greenback, trading
at Yen107.262 compared with Yen107.140 a day ago. Japan's Topix
Index dropped 0.5%.
In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.7%, as the Australian
dollar (AUDUSD) fell to 90.67 U.S. cents, from 90.84 U.S. cents in
the previous day. Meanwhile, Seoul's Kospi Composite Index settled
1% higher.
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