Hang Seng Index rebounds as Meituan, Tencent extend winning run, investors shrug off Alibaba concerns

Hang Seng Index edged up 0.2 per cent to hand the market a three-day rally this week

WuXi Biologics slipped after company unveiled a plan to raise HK$13.2 billion (US$1.69 billion) from a stock placement at a discount

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Pedestrians walk past a statue of a bull in Beijing. Alibaba recouped earlier slump to help the Hang Seng Index to a third day of gains on February 3, 2021. Photo: AP

Published: 11:06am, 3 Feb 2021Updated: 5:42pm, 3 Feb 2021

Hong Kong stocks erased earlier losses to cap a third day of advance, as investors shrugged aside regulatory concerns about Alibaba Group Holding. Meituan and Tencent shored up the market on mainland fund purchases.

The Hang Seng Index edged up 0.2 per cent to 29,307.46 at the close, bringing the appreciation to 3.6 per cent so far this week. The Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.5 per cent to 3,517.31.

Alibaba, the owner of this newspaper, edged up 0.4 per cent to HK$261, erasing as much as a 4 per cent drop in earlier trading. Lingering concerns about antitrust probes and “substantial uncertainties” surrounding Ant Group IPO revival overshadowed its earnings report card for the quarter ending December 31.

Meituan surged by 4.9 per cent to record high of HK$414.20. It was the second most popular stock for southbound funds this week. Mainland funds spent HK$892.6 million in net purchases of its shares on Tuesday. Tencent was also resilient, up by 1.6 per cent to HK$736.

Among other gainers, Ping An Healthcare and Technology jumped 6.4 per cent to HK$111.40. The Chinese online health care services platform’s revenues grew 35.5 per cent to 6.87 billion yuan in 2020, beating analysts’ expectations.

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