* Yum China, WH Group gain on strong Q1 earnings
* China set to report first population drop since 1949
SHANGHAI, April 28 (Reuters) – Hong Kong shares closed higher on Wednesday, with financials and consumer staples leading gains on the back of strong corporate earnings, while investors await cues on policy from politburo meetings due later this week. ** At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was up 129.80 points or 0.45% at 29,071.34. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index rose 0.28% to 11,014.69. ** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 0.1%, while the IT sector edged up 0.16%, the financial sector ended 0.97% higher and the property sector dipped 0.14%.
** Shares of pork processor WH Group Ltd rose 3.3% while restaurant group Yum China Holdings Inc jumped 5.38% after both companies reported strong earning results for the first quarter.
** Investors are expecting a meeting of the politburo, the top decision-making body of China’s ruling Communist Party, to happen sometime later this week.
** China is set to report its first population decline since 1949, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, complicating the challenges faced by policymakers to ensure the country’s long-term economic growth. ** China’s main Shanghai Composite index closed up 0.42% at 3,457.07 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended up 0.56%. ** Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.07%, while Japan’s Nikkei index closed up 0.21%. ** The yuan was quoted at 6.4857 per U.S. dollar at 08:19 GMT, 0.04% weaker than the previous close of 6.483. (Reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
