China stocks weighed down by financials and utilities, while health care shares offer respite to Hong Kong markets

Hong Kong stocks ended four days of losses to close up 0.3 per cent on Thursday, with investors taking a respite from the city’s economic woes and US-China trade war-related concerns and buying defensive health care stocks.

In mainland China, the CSI 300 index, which tracks blue-chips listed in Shenzhen and Shanghai, closed 0.3 per cent lower at 3,790.19, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1 per cent to 2,890.92. Financials once again weighed on the indices, while software stocks rose.

The Hang Seng Index, which closed at 25,703.5, seesawed between gains and losses all day on Thursday, amid signs the city’s 12-week long protests had hastened a decline in its property prices and shrunk buying interest. Some analysts said they expected transactions involving old homes to decline by 13 per cent this year – worse than when the deadly Sars outbreak hit Hong Kong in 2003 – and trigger a wave of job losses among property agents. The property sector is a linchpin of Hong Kong’s economy.

Keeping the Hang Seng afloat were health care stocks, with Sino Biopharm topping the index in percentage terms, surging 9.8 per cent to HK$11.66. That was a big rebound from morning losses. Sino Biopharm reported a 5.8 per cent increase in net profit to 1.44 billion yuan (US$201.4 million) for the first half of this year. CSPC Pharmaceutical rose 3.9 per cent to HK$16.1.

Alvin Cheung, associate director at Prudential Brokerage, said gains by health care stocks underlined a need stemming from demographic changes in mainland China.

“Many of these health care, pharmaceutical stocks have been bucking the broader downward market trend, as many of their drugs, which are related to oncology and the cardiovascular system, address the huge market potential under China’s ageing population,” Cheung said.