Hong Kong stocks end lower as Sunac tumbles 11pc on major fundraising plan
The Hang Seng Index dropped 1.1pc on Friday to end at 28,848.11 – that’s up 0.7pc for the week
Hong Kong stocks closed lower on Friday, with Chinese property developer Sunac posting its biggest decline in more than 27 months on a plan to raise funds, although the benchmark index still halted two weeks of losses.
The Hang Seng Index dropped 1.1 per cent, or 318.27 points, to end Friday at 28,848.11, but up 0.7 per cent for the week. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index slid 1.4 per cent, or 165.81 points, to 11,365.92.
Daily turnover increased 19 per cent to HK$126 billion on the main board from Thursday.
Analysts said the market sentiment has been generally stabilising in recent days after a sell-off in large technology and insurance stocks that began late last month. But they added investors remain cautious before the upcoming holidays.
“Liquidity conditions remain tight and people are standing on the sidelines,” said Linus Yip, chief strategist for First Shanghai Securities.
“Any breach by the benchmark index below the key support level of 28,800 will point to further losses.”
Sunac China Holdings plunged 10.6 per cent to close at HK$31.55, the biggest daily drop since August 2015, after it said it had priced its 251.5 million share placement at HK$31.1 each, at the low end of a marketed range. It expects to raise nearly US$1 billion.
Internet giant Tencent Holdings shed 2.1 per cent to HK$389, knocking 58 points off the benchmark index, the most among Hang Seng constituents.
Apple supplier AAC Technologies erased 1.1 per cent to HK$139.40.
HSBC Holdings fell 1.3 per cent to HK$78.55, China Construction Bank lost 0.9 per cent to HK$6.9 and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China slid 1.6 per cent to HK$6.14.
In the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index ended down 0.8 per cent at 3,266.14.
The CSI 300 – which tracks the large caps listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen – dropped 1.1 per cent to 3,980.86.
The Shenzhen Composite Index and the Nasdaq-style ChiNext lost 0.7 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively to finish at 1,901.2 and 1,783.97.
Combined turnover for Shanghai and Shenzhen markets increased 5 per cent to 376.7 billion yuan from the previous day.
Cement makers were weak, as Jiangxi Wannianqing Cement skidded 9.4 per cent to 10.48 yuan. Gansu Shangfeng Cement and Huaxin Cement fell 6.6 per cent and 5.3 per cent each to 10.29 yuan and 14.09 yuan.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.6 per cent to 22,553.22, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.2 per cent to 5,997.00, while South Korea’s Kospi bucked the downtrend, rising 0.5 per cent to 2,482.07.
