Most Hong Kong stocks gain as BYD rises on sales outlook while chip curbs unsettle AI firms
- BYD extended gains as strong sales reports in June brightened demand outlook in world’s biggest EV market
- Chip makers struggled amid an unsettling situation after China responded to equipment ban with curbs on exports of key raw semiconductor metals
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.4 per cent to 19,377.08 at 2.50pm local time, adding to a 2.1 per cent gain on Monday. The Tech Index added 0.2 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index was little changed.
BYD climbed 0.7 per cent to HK$263. Baidu jumped 1.7 per cent to HK$141.30, and NetEase added 1.4 per cent to HK$157.20. Sportswear maker Anta Sports increased 1.6 per cent to HK$83.60, while peer Li Ning rose 1.3 per cent to HK$43.75. Limiting gains, developer Country Garden fell 1.2 per cent to HK$1.63, and Henderson Land lost 1.5 per cent to HK$23.40.
BYD has risen 6 per cent over the past two trading days. The world’s biggest EV maker sold 253,046 units in June, beating its own record in May in latest sign of recovery in China’s EV market. Other rivals like Xpeng and Geely weakened, surrendering part of the huge rally this week.
“China’s economic recovery has so far been moderate amid still-soft domestic demand,” Hunter Chan and Ding Shuang, analysts at Standard Chartered, wrote in a report. “The car sector has raised hopes of strengthening growth momentum.”
SenseTime tumbled 8.7 per cent to HK$1.99, hobbling the city’s tech gauge. China on Monday imposed controls on the exports of gallium and germanium, key metals in semiconductor production, to “safeguard national security and interests.”