Hong Kong stocks surrender gains as property debt concerns unnerve market while tech rally fizzles out

Hang Seng retreated for a sixth day as worries about Chinese property debt defaults unnerved traders
Tech stocks including Meituan and Baidu surrendered most of their early gains in line with weakening sentiment in late trading

Hang Seng Index

Cheryl Heng

Published: 10:36am, 2 Nov 2021

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Hong Kong stocks fell for a sixth day as Chinese technology companies surrendered much of their gains. Property and bank stocks dragged the market lower as debt default concerns curbed optimism.

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.2 per cent to 25,099.67 at the close of Tuesday trading, reversing a rally of as much as 1.9 per cent. The Hang Seng Tech Index also closed on a whimper with a 0.6 per cent gain, after surging by as much as 3.7 per cent.

Citic slid 6.4 per cent while China Merchants Bank lost 5.8 per cent and developer Longfor Group declined 5.6 per cent, leading the index losers.

China Evergrande slumped 2.9 per cent, dragging some property stocks lower amid worries about widening defaults after Yango Group sought to delay repayment by up to eight months on US$500 million worth of bonds maturing in the first quarter next year. The developer said it may not have enough cash to redeem the offshore bonds.

Chinese Big Tech held up the market before sentiment flipped in late afternoon trading. Alibaba Group Holding and Meituan both added at least 1.3 per cent, while Bilibili and Baidu advanced by more than 3 per cent. All surrendered a big chunk of their early gains.

Ganfeng Lithium appreciated 3.4 per cent to HK$148.50 after the company announced a three-year supply contract with Tesla. Carmaker Xpeng lost almost all of its 1 percent-plus advance, built on its solid sales after delivering more than 10,000 electric vehicles in October. BYD jumped 3.6 per cent.

Mainland Chinese funds have returned to the Hong Kong market of late as values emerged. They were net buyers of HK$9.8 billion worth of shares in October, in addition to HK$18.1 billion inflows in September, according to stock exchange data.

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Some medical beauty stocks suffered following a government move to tighten advertising conducts in the industry. The move also worried investors about widening scrutiny on industries beyond the tech sector.

Shanghai Haohai Biological Technology Company retreated 5.5 per cent to HK$53.65. Imeik Technology fell 1.2 per cent to 580.50 yuan in Shenzhen. Bloomage Biotech lost 0.7 per cent to 167.40 yuan in Shanghai.

Medical equipment manufacturer Shanghai MicroPort MedBot rose 6 per cent to HK$45.80 in its trading debut. Runa Smart Equipment, which produces and sells intelligent heating products, surged 16.6 per cent to 64.91 yuan while resin product manufacturer Zhejiang Zhengguang Industrial lost 0.6 per cent to 36.09 yuan.

Markets in Asia-Pacific were mixed. Stocks in South Korea closed 1.2 per cent higher, while benchmarks in Japan and Australia retreated 0.4 and 0.6 per cent each.