HK stocks edge higher as Xiaomi surges

Local stocks started the week with modest gains but shares across the border slumped amid fears that Beijing could tighten policy to rein in lofty valuations.

The Hang Seng Index opened higher on Monday and climbed more than 400 points during trading.

It later pared the gains and closed 94 points or a third of a percent up at 28,833 on turnover of more than HK$193 billion.

Mainland tech giant Xiaomi surged more than 7 percent to become the top-gainer on the index after a US judge removed the Chinese smartphone maker from a blacklist that barred American companies from investing in it.

Shares of mainland car-sales website Autohome closed around 2 percent above its issue price on its trading debut on the local bourse.

Markets across the border suffered losses though, as the recent conservative annual economic growth target reignited worries that Beijing could tighten measures to rein in lofty valuations.

The blue-chip CSI300 index fell as much as 3 percent before ending down around 2 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index shed 1 percent.

Regional shares were mixed with investors keeping tabs on the upcoming meeting of the US Federal Reserve later this week.

Japan earned around 0.2 percent, as declines in tech giant SoftBank and other tech companies limited gains.

South Korea’s Kospi snapped two straight sessions of gains and lost 0.3 percent, and Taipei was flat.

To commodities, oil prices rose as data showed the mainland’s economic recovery accelerated at the start of this year, boosting the energy demand outlook for the world’s largest oil importer.