ASIA MARKETS: Chinese Stocks Keep Up Their Winning Streak Ahead Of Holiday

By Laura He, MarketWatch

Japanese and Australian stocks retreat

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks extended recent gains Tuesday, the last full trading day before the Lunar New Year holiday, as they shrugged off downbeat Chinese home-price data.

The Hang Seng Index edged up 0.2%, after rising for the previous three sessions, while the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.8% to notch a seven-session winning streak.

Official data showed Tuesday that 69 of the top 70 Chinese cities recorded falls in the price of new homes over January. On average, those prices were down 5.1% year-on-year, accelerating from a 4.3% drop in December.

Most Chinese property stocks declined in Hong Kong. Poly Property Group Co. tumbled 3%, Hang Seng constituent China Resources Land Ltd. lost 1.2%, and Country Garden Holdings Co. Ltd. pulled back 0.3%.

But major mainland Chinese banks posted gains that supported the market, with China Citic Bank Corp. up 2.3%, China Minsheng Banking Corp. climbing 2.1%, Bank of Communications Co. higher by 0.9%, and Bank of China Ltd. tacking on 0.2%.

Among the heaviest-weighted Hang Seng components, HSBC Holdings PLC and China Mobile Ltd. both added 0.5%, and Tencent Holdings Ltd. rose 0.2%. Hong Kong telecom operator Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Ltd. rose 2.6%, as the market accepted the company's 9% year-on-year profit drop for last year. Its corporate parent Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. traded 0.5% higher.

Hong Kong markets were due to open for a half day on Wednesday, while those in Shanghai were due to close for the rest of the week.

Elsewhere, other major Asian markets mostly declined, after a breakdown in Greek debt talks dented investor sentiment.

Japan's Nikkei Average inched down 0.1%, retreating from a nearly eight-year high from the previous session, while the Topix nosed 0.2% higher. The yen (USDJPY) rose slightly against the greenback to Yen118.53, from Yen118.59 at the Tokyo stock exchange close on Monday.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 also dropped 0.5%, while South Korea's Kospi Composite Index drifted higher by 0.2%.

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