Hong Kong stocks log weekly gain on tech bounce as traders await Fed guidance on tapering

Hang Seng Index lifted by improved sentiment before BYD, Meituan publish post-trading earnings reports

Tech stocks swayed the market as recent slump attracted buyers and detractors alike, southbound flows remained weak

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Mainland Chinese funds remain net sellers this week, signalling caution surrounding tech stocks in the city. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 10:55am, 27 Aug 2021Updated: 4:54pm, 27 Aug 2021

Hong Kong stocks completed a winning week as traders look for a boost in earnings reports from big China technology firms even as US regional Fed officials called for an early pullback in monetary stimulus.

The Hang Seng Index climbed 2.3 per cent for the week to 25,407 as a bounce in Chinese tech stocks lifted the market out of bear territory. Electric-car maker BYD climbed 2.3 per cent and Meituan, which is under Beijing’s antitrust probe, slipped 0.8 per cent before their earnings releases.

The Hang Seng Tech Index logged a 7.3 per cent advance this week after a marginal drop on Friday, handing investors the best performance in seven months. China’s Shanghai Composite Index added 0.6 per cent.

Some 45 of the Hang Seng Index members have so far released their report cards in the current earnings season, with first-half profits rising by 49 per cent from a year earlier, according to Bloomberg data. That trailed analysts’ projections by 3.4 per cent. Profit growth was 20 per cent in the first quarter.

The Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole meeting in Wyoming will be in focus as Chair Jerome Powell is expected to shed light on when and how the US central bank will pare its bond-purchase programme after years of ultra-loose policy accommodation through economic crises.

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