AIA, BYD, CNOOC lift Hong Kong stocks on earnings optimism while distiller ZJLD sinks 18 per cent on listing debut
- Hang Seng rose for a second day out as investors bet on better earnings reports from BYD, CNOOC, China Life Insurance
- Liquor distiller ZJLD Group tumbled by 18 per cent on its listing debut after completing its US$680 million stock offering
The Hang Seng Index closed 0.4 per cent higher at 19,813.38 in Thursday trading, clawing its way up from a four-week low. The Tech Index pared losses to 0.3 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.7 per cent.
AIA Group climbed 1.6 per cent to HK$85.20 while peer Ping An Insurance rallied by the most in four months with a 9 per cent surge to HK$56.20, following their robust report cards. Limiting gains, Alibaba Group dropped 1.8 per cent to HK$81.80 while Baidu slumped 1.7 per cent to HK$115.50 and Tencent lost 0.9 per cent to HK$345.
Stocks earlier swung between gains and losses as investors absorbed a slew of better corporate earnings from industry heavyweights like AIA Group, Ping An and HSBC. BYD, CNOOC, Sinopec and China Life Insurance are among firms issuing their reports later today.
“From the conversations I have with clients, they are just a bit unsure where to go next because policy wise, it is not clear and no one quite has the handle on that,” said Ken shih, head of wealth management at Saxo Markets in Hong Kong. “Many of them are a bit more cautious in terms of how they invest.”