Hong Kong stocks fall most in 4 weeks as traders pocket gains; SHKP leads developers higher after property curbs scrapped
- Chinese home builders slid after Country Garden received a winding-up petition filed by Ever Credit, a wholly owned unit of Kingboard Holdings
- Henderson Land led gains among local developers after Hong Kong abolished stamp duties on home transactions
Hong Kong developers bucked the downward trend after the government scrapped all curbs on property transactions in a bid to boost the ailing housing market.
The Hang Seng Index sank 1.5 per cent to 16,635.85 at the close on Wednesday after hitting a 2024 high a day earlier. The Hang Seng Tech Index slumped 2.2 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.9 per cent.
Henderson Land clocked the biggest gain among Hong Kong developers, rising 3.8 per cent. Sun Hung Kai Properties, the city’s biggest developer, added 0.7 per cent to HK$78. Link Reit, a property investment trust, advanced 2 per cent to HK$39.
The strength of the recent rally in Hong Kong stocks will be put to the test as traders shift their focus to economic fundamentals and corporate earnings. Bellwether companies including NetEase and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing are due to report their results later this week, and China will release a purchasing managers’ index of its manufacturing industry on Friday.