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Stock prices on electronic screens outside the Exchange Square in Hong Kong in July 2023. Photo: AP
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Hong Kong stocks rise by most in 4 weeks, notches weekly gain as more Chinese companies join buy-back plans

  • EV battery maker CATL and home appliances maker Gree unveiled stock buy-backs in Shenzhen
  • China Life Insurance retreated 0.7 per cent, the biggest drag on the Hang Seng, after reporting a 99 per cent plunge in third-quarter profit
Hong Kong stock market
Zhang Shidong
Zhang Shidongin Shanghai
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Hong Kong stocks rose by the most in four weeks and chalked up a gain for the week after several buy-back proposals by bellwether Chinese companies lifted confidence and industrial profits increased for a second straight month.

The Hang Seng Index advanced 2.1 per cent to 17,398.73 at the close, bringing the gain to 1.3 per cent from last Friday. The Tech Index climbed 2.5 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index added 1 per cent.

Wuxi Biologics surged 7.3 per cent to HK$47.75, and e-commerce platform operator JD.com rose 3.4 per cent to HK$101.40. Game operator NetEase climbed 3.5 per cent to HK$169.30, and Alibaba Group Holding added 3.3 per cent to HK$82.40. China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, or Sinopec, strengthened 2.7 per cent to HK$4.14 after third-quarter profit rose 38 per cent from a year earlier.

Limiting gains, China Life Insurance slid 0.7 per cent to HK$10.66, the biggest drag on the market, after its third-quarter profit plunged 99 per cent from a year earlier as investment gains narrowed.

EV battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and air-conditioner maker Gree Electric Appliance, plan to spend as much as 3 billion yuan (US$410 million) each to buy back their Shenzhen-listed shares, according to exchange filings. CATL rose 3.7 per cent to 184.72 yuan and Gree added 2.5 per cent to 34.22 yuan.

Profits for Chinese industrial companies rose 11.9 per cent from a year earlier in September after growing 17.2 per cent the previous month, the statistics bureau said on Friday.

Stock buy-backs “will stabilise liquidity on the market,” said Song Yiwei, an analyst at Bohai Securities in Tianjin. “Optimism has been growing after supportive policy measures such as the special government bond issuance.”

Policymakers in the mainland and Hong Kong have both ramped up efforts to revive growth. China this week unveiled a 1 trillion yuan special government bond issue to fund disaster relief and reconstruction, while the sovereign wealth fund bought exchange-traded funds tracking yuan stocks on Monday.

16:01

The ‘hits’ and ‘misses’ of John Lee’s 2023 policy address

The ‘hits’ and ‘misses’ of John Lee’s 2023 policy address
Hong Kong will cut stamp duty on stock transactions and eased restrictions on home purchases for the first time in more than a decade, among incentives announced by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in his annual policy address on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Ping An Insurance, China Merchants Bank and Zijin Mining Group are among major companies publishing their third-quarter earnings later today. Nine Hang Seng Index members have reported so far, averaging an 11 per cent drop from a year earlier, according to Bloomberg data. Earnings rose 7 per cent in the first half of 2023.

Two companies started trading for the first time. Courier service provider J&T Global Express was unchanged from its offer price at HK$12 in Hong Kong. Ahwit Precision, a medical equipment maker, surged 11-fold to 70.49 yuan in Beijing.

Other major Asian markets traded higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.3 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 both added 0.2 per cent.

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