China's blue-chip stocks rally on consumer strength; Hong Kong down

China's blue-chip index extended gains on Tuesday, aided by jumps in consumer stocks, as investors hoped for more measures to spur the country's consumption amid the coronavirus outbreak.

** The CSI300 index rose 0.6% to 5,300.18 points at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.1% to 3,501.20 points. ** Leading the gains, the CSI300 consumer staples index jumped 3.7%.

** In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 0.3% to 27,388.96 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index lost 0.1% to 10,712.11. ** However, Hong Kong shares of China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom staged a strong rebound on Tuesday after the New York Stock Exchange halted their delisting process.

** "Investors could pay attention to residents' income recovery and measures to stimulate consumption in 2021, as China's consumption recovery was relatively weak in 2020 amid the coronavirus outbreak," Luo Kun, director of macro strategy centre at Chasing Securities, noted in a report. ** Analysts and traders also said investors became more bullish on hopes of more policy support and ample liquidity.

** "The spring rally is here now as investors expect more policy support from Beijing and as banks usually lend more at the start of a new year, which would mean more liquidity in the market," said Fu Yanping, an analyst with China Galaxy Securities. ** Fu said risk appetite also got a boost as Beijing pledged continued policy support and on the Sino-Europe investment deal.

** China last year said it would maintain support for its economic recovery, avoiding a sudden shift in policy, to help keep growth within a reasonable range in 2021.

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