Hang Seng rally pauses as mainland China funds trim Tencent, HKEX bets while Macau casinos advance

Name: Streets and trains empty in central Chinese city of Anyang as Covid-19 lockdown begins
Uploaded: 2022-01-14T02:48:15.000Z
Duration: 59 s
Description: Streets and trains empty in central Chinese city of Anyang as Covid-19 lockdown begins

Mainland Chinese investors turned net sellers of Hong Kong-listed stocks on Thursday with Tencent, HKEX, Sunny Optical among those under pressure

Hang Seng still logged a 3.9 per cent gain for the week, the most in about 14 months

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Pedestrians walk past the Exchange Square in Central, Hong Kong on , November 5. Photo: EPA-EFE

Cheryl Heng

Published: 10:48am, 14 Jan 2022Updated: 4:41pm, 14 Jan 2022

Hong Kong stocks fell for the first time in three days amid steep losses in technology companies as mainland Chinese investors trimmed their bets. A government report showed Chinese exports and imports cooled last month.

The Hang Seng Index retreated 0.2 per cent to 24,383.32 at the close of Friday trading, while the Tech Index declined 0.5 per cent with Alibaba Group Holding, Meituan and JD.com falling by more than 2 per cent. The Shanghai Composite Index declined 1 per cent.

Mainland funds were net sellers of Hong Kong-listed stocks on Thursday as the rally lost steam, with Tencent, Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing and Sunny Optical among those under selling pressure, according to Stock Connect data. Still, the Hang Seng Index has risen about 3.9 per cent for the week, the most in about 14 months.

“With the full-year earnings announcement coming up in March, it is likely analysts would cut target prices on several tech stocks, thus the momentum being much weaker than before despite the rebound,” Castor Pang Wai-sun, head of research at investment services firm Core Pacific-Yamaichi, said by phone.

Alibaba slid 2.2 per cent to HK$129.30 after affiliate Ant Group failed to progress the sale of a stake in its consumer finance unit called Chongqing Ant to several parties including Cinda Asset Management.

Limiting losses, Macau casino operators advanced before the city’s government was expected to unveil amendments to gambling law on Friday amid concerns about concession renewals. Sands China rallied 7.2 per cent while Galaxy Entertainment rose 3.4 per cent.

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Streets and trains empty in central Chinese city of Anyang as Covid-19 lockdown begins

Elsewhere, Chinese exports rose 20.9 per cent in December from a year earlier compared with 22 per cent in November, customs data showed on Friday, coming within analysts’ predictions in a Bloomberg survey. Imports cooled at 19.5 per cent versus a projection for 31.7 per cent.