Hong Kong stocks retreat before Alibaba, Chinese tech peers release earnings while oil, casino firms add to gloom

Alibaba and Baidu are seen reporting a 17 per cent and 82 per cent slide in quarterly earnings, based on consensus estimates

Oil stocks weakened on supply concerns while uncertainty on gambling concessions unnerved Macau casino shares

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View of the Exchange Square in Central, home to the Hong Kong. stock exchange. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Published: 10:47am, 17 Nov 2021Updated: 5:07pm, 17 Nov 2021

Hong Kong stocks fell as oil companies and casino operators tumbled. Alibaba Group Holding led tech peers lower before earnings reports that may show the effects of regulatory crackdown on Chinese tech giants.

The Hang Seng Index retreated 0.3 per cent to 25,650.08 at the close of Wednesday trading. The gauge had rallied 3.8 per cent in the preceding six days in its longest run since mid-February on policy easing bets and optimism surrounding US-China ties.

The Hang Seng Tech Index declined 0.6 per cent, dragged down by NetEase‘s 3.6 per cent slump and Meituan’s 1.3 per cent loss. China’s Shanghai Composite Index added 0.4 per cent. Sunny Optical retreated 4.4 per cent while Alibaba and CNOOC fell by more than 0.2 per cent.

Alibaba, the owner of this newspaper, may report a 17 per cent slide in earnings from a year earlier when the e-commerce group releases its third-quarter report card on Thursday, according to the consensus among analysts tracked by Bloomberg. Separately, Baidu is expected to log an 82 per cent slump in profitability.

China’s biggest oil companies added to the weaker sentiment, following a report by the Post that the US has asked China to release its oil reserves as part of discussions on economic cooperation.