Hong Kong stocks cling to 13-month lows on China economic gloom; Tencent falls on stake sale by major shareholder
- China’s unexpected import contraction and Moody’s Investors Service decision to cut the outlook on the sovereign rating sours risk appetite
- Official data due over the weekend may also show consumer and producer prices shrank in November, intensifying deflation concerns
The Hang Seng Index dropped 0.1 per cent to 16,334.37 at the close, extending to 3 per cent the loss for the week. The Hang Seng Tech Index lost 0.4 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.1 per cent.
Online travel agency Trip.com Group rallied 1.8 per cent to HK$260.80 on optimism about travel demand, after Singapore announced it will allow Chinese tourists to enter the country without visas. New World Development added 0.2 per cent to HK$11.02 after its founder, billionaire Henry Cheng’s family, increased its stake in the Hong Kong-based developer. Alibaba Group climbed 1.2 per cent to HK$70.50 and e-commerce peer JD.com advanced 0.8 per cent to HK$104.80.
“While Hong Kong stocks are cheap, they have limited upside room for now because of the lack of catalysts as China’s economic data falls short of expectations and the drop in US Treasury yields is not as fast as expected,” said Cao Liulong, an analyst at Founder Securities. “Stocks will be meandering through the rest of the year until we see more clarity of policy support.”