Hong Kong stocks rise ahead of earnings reports from heavyweights Alibaba and ICBC
As many as 12 companies from the 85-member Hang Seng Index are due to release interim reports on Friday
On Friday, the Hang Seng Index closed 0.3 per cent higher at 25,077.62, ending the month with a 1.2 per cent gain despite losses accumulated over the past three days. It was also the benchmark’s fourth consecutive monthly gain. The Hang Seng Tech Index advanced 0.5 per cent.
Trading retained its heat on the mainland, as the CSI 300 Index climbed 0.7 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.4 per cent. Goldman Sachs raised its 12-month target for the CSI 300 by 8.9 per cent to 4,900, saying that the liquidity-fuelled rally had more room for upside.
Qingdao-based household appliances maker Haier Smart Home jumped 4.6 per cent to HK$26.24 after its first-half profit exceeded analysts’ estimates. Online travel agency Trip.com Group advanced 4.7 per cent to HK$578, rising for a second day after a strong earnings report. Post owner Alibaba Group slipped 0.1 per cent to HK$115.70 and ICBC fell 0.4 per cent to HK$5.77 before their earnings reports later on Friday.
As many as 12 companies from the 85-member Hang Seng Index were due to release their interim reports on Friday, which were expected to provide fresh clues on which sectors have withstood a slowdown in Chinese economic growth and benefited from a government drive to cut overcapacity in an array of green energy industries.
Alibaba, the third-biggest constituent of the Hang Seng Index with a 7.7 per cent weighting, was expected to post a 22 per cent profit increase in the second quarter, while ICBC earnings were tipped to rise 3.2 per cent from a year earlier, according to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg.