Hong Kong stocks drop for second day, miss regional rally amid soft economic data

‘We do not see concrete signs of economic recovery yet,’ Bank of East Asia strategist says

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Pedestrians stroll in Pudong’s Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai on August 7, 2024. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 10:35am, 15 Aug 2024Updated: 5:03pm, 15 Aug 2024

Hong Kong stocks weakened for a second day, left out of a broader Asian rally, after a mixed bag of economic data for mainland China reinforced growth concerns. The Fed rate-cut outlook and bets that Beijing will roll out more stimulus measures helped limit the downside.

The Hang Seng Index declined less than 0.1 per cent to 17,109.14 at the close after losing as much as 1.1 per cent, and gaining as much as 0.4 per cent, earlier in the session. The Tech Index declined 0.3 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index rallied 0.9 per cent to claw out from a sixth-month low.

Tencent lost 1.4 per cent to HK$368.40. E-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding weakened 2.4 per cent to HK$76.40, and peer JD.com lost 1.4 per cent to HK$99.35 ahead of earnings cards due later today.

Limiting losses, NetEase jumped 3.9 per cent to HK$138.90 after peer Tencent reported strong gaming growth. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rallied 2.2 per cent to HK$4.58 and China Merchants Bank jumped 2.2 per cent to HK$33.05, leading gains among mainland lenders.

Fresh housing data released on Thursday showed the property downturn has not yet turned the corner. New home prices declined 0.7 per cent in July, the 14th month of decline, although the rate of the drop slowed compared with the previous month.

Retail sales rebounded slightly to register 2.7 per cent growth last month, following a sharp decline to 2 per cent in June from 3.7 per cent in May. Industrial production grew 5.1 per cent during the same period, compared with the 5.3 per cent growth in June.