Hong Kong stocks cap volatile day on New York Stock Exchange’s muddled plan to delist Chinese telecoms trio

The Hang Seng Index edged up 0.2 per cent, while Shanghai Composite gained 0.6 per cent; IPO debutants were mixed

NYSE is said to be thinking about sticking back to its original plan to delist Chinese telecoms giants if their units are on the US blacklist

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A view from an unoccupied NYSE trading floor in March 2020. The New York Stock Exchange is mulling a second U-turn about its plan to delist three Chinese telecommunications companies, whipsawing markets. Photo: AP

Published: 11:10am, 6 Jan 2021Updated: 5:43pm, 6 Jan 2021

Hong Kong stocks capped another volatile trading day amid confusion surrounding the New York Stock Exchange’s plan to delist three Chinese telecoms giants, while index compiler S&P Dow Jones Indices decided to retain them in its global benchmarks.

The Hang Seng Index edged up 0.2 per cent to 27,692.30 to complete a third day of advance, reversing earlier losses. The Shanghai Composite Index also rebounded, adding 0.6 per cent.

The NYSE is committed to delisting three Chinese telecommunications companies if their subsidiaries – China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom – are found to be affected by a US blacklist, according to a source familiar with the matter.

A day earlier, the exchange said it was scrapping its December 31 plan to remove their American depositary shares. S&P Dow Jones Indices on Wednesday said that it would not remove the trio from its global benchmarks.

China Unicom gained 3.5 per cent to HK$5.02, recovering from a fall of as much as 3.1 per cent. China Mobile rose 1.2 per cent to HK$46.65, reversing from a 2.2 per cent slide. China Telecom rose 3.7 per cent to HK$2.24. The trio surged on Tuesday, adding HK$58.7 billion (US$7.56 billion) in value.

“All this news is very difficult for investors to handle,” said Louis Tse Ming-kwong, managing director of Wealthy Securities. “These decisions have created a lot of volatility.”