Hong Kong stocks advance as tech climbs from record-low while SenseTime IPO delivers upside surprise
- Tech benchmark recovered from an all-time low as NetEase, JD.com and Meituan advanced
- SenseTime beat market expectations as the Chinese AI champion surged on its trading debut despite a sanctions-marred IPO in Hong Kong
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.1 per cent to 23,112.01 at the close of Thursday trading, after losing as much as 0.4 per cent in earlier trading. The Tech Index climbed 0.1 per cent, ending a four-day losing streak. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.6 per cent.
SenseTime, China’s biggest artificial intelligence group, surged as much as 23 per cent following its US$851 million stock offering in Hong Kong. The stock jumped as high as HK$4.74 before closing with a 7.3 per cent gain at HK$4.13 on Thursday.
“As we approach the year end, investors are cleaning up their positions, so we are seeing hot tech names under pressure,” said Mark Po, head of research at China Galaxy International Securities. Alibaba Group Holding fell 0.6 per cent, after rising as much as 1.5 per cent earlier, while its health information unit lost 0.9 per cent.
The city’s tech benchmark has lost 9.5 per cent in December and 35 per cent for the year, pushing valuations to multi-year low.
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Chinese real estate giants Evergrande and Kaisa continue unloading assets to cover debt
The Hang Seng Index is still 2 per cent weaker this month, after losing 7.5 per cent in November. Its 15 per cent setback this year ranks as the worst among major global stock indices, according to Bloomberg data.