Advertisement
Advertisement
Hang Seng Index
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
A Chinese investor reads a newspaper as she monitors stock prices at a brokerage house in Beijing. Photo: AP

China’s Xiaomi surges on blowout results, boosting new Hong Kong tech benchmark

  • Xiaomi jumps nearly 13 per cent after profit beats estimates
  • Other two stocks – Wuxi Biologics and Alibaba – to be added to Hang Seng Index on September 7 also rise

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi soared on Thursday on stronger-than-expected earnings, but it failed to boost the overall mood in Hong Kong, where the benchmark sagged as the coronavirus continued to weigh on sentiment.

Xiaomi, which will be added to the Hang Seng Index on September 7, reported profits that beat estimates and jumped nearly 13 per cent at one point, closing up 11.4 per cent . Last week, on news it would be included in the benchmark, it gained 18.4 per cent.

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.8 per cent to 25,281.15, as it continues to struggle to kick above the 25,500 mark. On Monday, it rose above that resistance level for the first time in more than a month.

The Shanghai Composite Benchmark turned up to close ahead 0.6 per cent at 3,350.

Three stocks, including Xiaomi, will be added to the Hang Seng Index on September 7. The others are Alibaba, the e-commerce giant that owns the South China Morning Post, and pharmaceutical giant Wuxi Biologics. Alibaba, which is the top shareholder of the coming IPO of Ant Group, rose 0.1 per cent while Wuxi Biologics shot up nearly 4 per cent.

Xiaomi rocketed up after reporting that its profit attributable to shareholders shot up more than 30 per cent.

“Xiaomi is well-positioned to take advantage of China’s 5G boom and Huawei’s worsening chip access to gain home market share, though the nation’s resumption of retail stores could allow more competition from Oppo and Vivo,” wrote Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Anthea Lai.

“Persistent risks in India, Xiaomi’s biggest overseas market, due to lockdown measures and political tensions may force it to shift focus to smaller European markets,” she added.

Gold slipped 0.5 per cent to US$1,944.76 an ounce, while silver fell 0.5 per cent to US$27.37 in recent trading.
Post