ASIA MARKETS: Hong Kong Stocks Snap Losing Streak On Liquidity Boost

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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