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Stocks in China and Hong Kong rallied on Wednesday, led by real estate firms, after developers posted stellar profits for 2017.
Amid mounting fears of a global trade war, China's premier Li Keqiang said China would open its economy further, so that foreign and Chinese firms can compete on an equal footing.
At 04:03 GMT, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.48 per cent at 3,306.28, while China's blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.64 per cent at 4,103.95. Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong rose 1.31 per cent to 12,762.91, while the Hang Seng Index was up 1.21 per cent at 31,931.05.
The smaller Shenzhen index was up 0.63 per cent, while the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 0.26 per cent. The advance was led by developers, with an index tracking major developers listed in Hong Kong up 2.2 per cent by the lunch break.
Many of China's major property developers are expected to book annual best-ever profits for 2017, largely shrugging off the impact of Beijing's tightening measures as they speed up the pace of developments and as they benefit from consolidation in the industry.
China's Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd said annual core profit doubled to a record on robust domestic sales and was hopeful about a high-profile property project in Malaysia despite a sharp drop in sales to mainland Chinese buyers.
Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 0.48 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei index was down 0.47 per cent. The yuan was quoted at 6.3324 per US dollar, 0.04 per cent firmer than the previous close of 6.3352.
The largest percentage gainers on the main Shanghai Composite index were Heilongjiang Interchina Water Treatment Co Ltd up 10.04 per cent, followed by Shang Hai Kai Kai Industry Co Ltd gaining 10.04 per cent and Linhai Co Ltd up by 10.03 per cent.
The largest percentage losers on the Shanghai index were China CSSC Holdings Ltd down 10.01 per cent, followed by CSSC Offshore and Marine Engineering Group Co Ltd losing 6.38 per cent and Shanghai Datun Energy Resources Co Ltd down by 4.36 per cent.
The top gainers among H-shares were China Resources Land Ltd up 7.71 per cent, followed by China Vanke Co Ltd gaining 5.36 per cent and PetroChina Co Ltd up by 3.56 per cent.
The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were New China Life Insurance Co Ltd which has fallen 8.01 per cent, ZhongAn Online P and C Insurance Co Ltd which lost 5.8 per cent and CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd down by 2.2 per cent.
About 8.97 billion shares have traded so far on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 50.4 per cent of the market's 30-day moving average of 17.81 billion shares a day. The volume traded was 13.99 billion as of the last full trading day.
As of 04:03 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 25.20 per cent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. The Shanghai stock index is below its 50-day moving average and below its 200-day moving average. The price-to-earnings ratio of the Shanghai index was 14.98 as of the last full trading day, while the dividend yield was 2 per cent.
In Hong Kong, the sub-index of the Hang Seng index tracking energy shares rose 2.7 per cent, while the IT sector gained 1.4 per cent. The top gainer on Hang Seng was China Resources Land Ltd up 7.71 per cent, while the biggest loser was Wharf Real Estate Investment Company Ltd which was down 1.94 per cent.
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