Bulls at the gate as crypto ETFs debut

Hong Kong stocks rallied but failed to crack the 18,000 mark yesterday - the level to enter a technical bull market - suggesting that caution may be returning to the market.

The rally came ahead of the launch of six spot bitcoin and ether exchange traded funds on the bourse today.

The ETFs are managed by China Asset Management, Harvest Global Investments, and Bosera Asset Management.

The Hang Seng Index closed 95 points, or 0.5 percent, higher at 17,746 points after jumping as much as 2.2 percent to 18,031 points earlier in the day. The intraday move took the HSI's rally to more than 20 percent from a January low.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.8 percent to close at 3,113 points, the highest this year.

In Hong Kong, shares of beleaguered property developers surged amid bets for more policy support at the widely-expected meeting of China's top leaders later this week. Even those in default surged, with Shimao (0813) soaring 61 percent.

Traders were also buoyed by the news that the city of Chengdu will no longer review home buyers' qualifications for real estate purchases.

Shares of Macau casino operators also surged after the introduction of measures to streamline the entry and exit process for Chinese citizens, with Sands China (1928) up 2.2 percent.