Hong Kong stocks slide but post second straight weekly gain, as coronavirus weighs on sentiment

Hong Kong and other major Asia-Pacific stocks slid on Friday, as investors continued to balance fears of rising coronavirus cases in the city, the US and elsewhere against signs of China’s steady economic recovery and the huge amount of liquidity around the globe.

The Hang Seng Index closed down 1.8 per cent. That was its worst daily decline in nearly four weeks. But it managed to post a 1.4 per cent weekly gain, its second straight weekly advance.

Information technology stocks led losses, with smartphone lens-maker Sunny Optical falling as much as 6.9 per cent before narrowing the loss to 4 per cent. It had risen in 10 of the previous 12 sessions.

Of the benchmark’s 50 constituent members, 43 showed losses.

Profit taking set in after some spectacular gains by large caps in recent sessions, and sentiment was also weighed down by moves by China to cool the exuberance that has been taking hold over mainland stocks.

China Life Insurance Co., a Chinese auto-to-health insurance giant, fell 6.7 per cent, after advancing on six of the previous seven sessions, including a 14.4 per cent gain on Monday. Geely Automobile led gainers on the index, shooting up as much as 6.3 per cent before trimming back to a 3.9 per cent advance. It had risen in five of the previous six sessions, including nearly 16 per cent on Monday, as the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said vehicle makers could recover faster than expected.