SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese and Hong Kong shares jumped as trading opened on Monday as a landmark trading scheme linking the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges kicked off.
The CSI300 index of top Chinese shares rose 1.3 per cent to 2,613.5 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.1 per cent to 2,506.7 points.
Much of the cash flow from the so-called Stock Connect scheme is expected to be northbound initially, with foreign investors on the Hong Kong Exchange snapping up mainland shares under a daily quota of 13 billion yuan(US$2.12 billion).
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index opened 0.9 per cent higher as investors cheered the first day of connected trading. following a stronger opening in the index futures, which rose 1 per cent.
Ahead of the launch, Hong Kong's stock market has rallied nearly 14 per cent since it was announced in April.
The trading link will let international investors trade Shanghai-listed shares directly for the first time via the Hong Kong stock exchange, and mainland China investors to trade in Hong Kong shares via the Shanghai Stock Exchange. It marks latest step towards opening China's tightly controlled capital markets.
