Hong Kong stocks advance as developers, carmakers get China boost while Alibaba, Baidu slip on tech earnings outlook
- Hang Seng snapped a two-day slide in a volatile trading day even as concerns about tech earnings hit Alibaba, Baidu
- HSBC, Kuaishou, property developers and carmakers chalked up gains as China asked lenders to speed up loans for troubled industries
The Hang Seng Index rose 0.3 per cent to 20,171.27 at the close of Wednesday trading, halting a 3 per cent slide over the past two days. The Tech Index added 0.3 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index rebounded 1.2 per cent.
Country Garden and New World Development added 1.2 per cent as 10 of the 12 members lifted the Hang Seng Properties Index by 0.4 per cent. Geely Auto surged 4.5 per cent to HK$14.76 while GreatWall Motor soared 11 per cent to HK$13.76. HSBC jumped 3.1 per cent to HK$50.95 while ICBC added 0.4 per cent to HK$4.66.
“The sentiment is quite divergent, there is one group [of investors] who welcome the [support] measures, while another remains concerned about the impact of zero-Covid policy,” said Mark Po, head of research at China Galaxy International Securities. “What we need is the direction for internet-platform operators. Bear in mind that we have a series of earnings announcements too.”
Chinese tech leaders slide, tracking an overnight slide in US peers as the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 2.3 per cent. More than US$462 billion of market value was lost after Snap Inc’s profit warning sparked a sell-off in social media stocks.