China stocks rise as investors await GDP data; HK shares fall

SHANGHAI: China stocks ended higher on Tuesday as investors awaited annual economic growth data due out on Wednesday for further direction, while Hong Kong shares hit a more than one-year low, dragged down by losses in technology and property stocks.

China's blue-chip CSI300 Index closed up 0.6%, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3%. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 2.2%, hitting the lowest level since November 2022. Unlike the U.S. stock market, China's stock market has a high dispersion among individual stock performances, Herald Van Der Linde, head of Asia Pacific equity strategy at HSBC, said at a media briefing on Monday.

"So, the strategy I think is the best to adopt is to go deep and look for individual companies that have growth that is structural and not sensitive to what happens either in the broad economy or the broad market," he said. Meanwhile, investors are awaiting China's 2023 full-year gross domestic product figures to see whether the country beats its around 5% economic growth target for last year.

December activity data due on Wednesday is also in focus to see if the economy gained momentum heading into 2024. Chinese transportation stocks hit a one-month high, rising for the fourth session as investors bet the escalating Red Sea crisis will push up crude freight prices, generating windfall profit for oil tankers and shipping companies.

Tourism stocks continued their rally, rising 1.9%. Local investors have shifted their attention to overseas markets. ChinaAMC Nomura Nikkei 225 Index ETF traded in Shanghai has seen market premium over its net asset value reach a record high this week.

In Hong Kong, tech shares slumped 2.3%.