LiveChina Markets Live - Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong finish in the green

Welcome to the SCMP's live markets blog. The intense volatility of recent weeks has every chance of remaining the core underlying theme of activity. Investors are increasingly focused the broader question of how this episode might affect the wider economy as many suspect the equity bubble has yet to fully deflate. We'll bring you the key levels, trading statements, price action and other developments as they happen. 4:20pm: The Hang Seng index finished 0.39 per cent down for the week. Trading volumes were at their lowest since February. 4:18pm: China Railway Signal & Communication (CRSC) closed its first day of Hong Kong trading at HK$6.32, 0.32 per cent up on its opening price of HK$6.30. Intraday price movements are charted below – click to enlarge. 4:06pm: The Hang Seng finished 0.73 per cent up at 24,552.47. The H-share index rose 1.21 per cent to 11,227.94. 4:04pm: China stocks rose on Friday. Shenzhen (orange), Shanghai (green), CSI300 (purple) and ChiNext (blue) all went up. Click to enlarge the chart below (percentages are against today’s opening). :02pm: The performance of major China stock indices through the week in 30 minute increments. Shanghai Composite (orange), Shenzhen Composite (purple), CSI300 (green) and ChiNext (blue). Click to enlarge. 3:45pm: After a steep fall last week Chinese benchmark indices closed in positive territory this week but on thin volumes suggesting many investors are disengaged from the markets for now. The Shanghai Composite index gained 2.2 per cent for the week. Stocks traded within a narrow 159 point range with average weekly volume at its lowest level since early May. The Shenzhen Composite posted a weekly gain of 3.15 per cent. Weekly volumes were at their lowest since mid March. 3:20pm: In today’s A-share trading across Shanghai and Shenzhen, 2,294 companies finished the day up on yesterday while only 62 were down. Unchanged or suspended stocks numbered 558. 3:20pm: Mainland Chinese banks are performing well in Hong Kong. Bank of Communications is up 2.94 per cent to HK$7, Bank of China gains 1.67 per cent to 4.26, China Construction Bank gains 1.58 per cent to 6.42, and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China adds 1.31 per cent to HK$5.41. 3:12pm: Hong Kong shares are trading below their intraday high. The Hang Seng index is 0.74 per cent higher at 24,555.23 and the H-share index is up 1.52 per cent at 11,261.42. 3:12pm: The Shanghai Composite ended the day 2.26 per cent higher at 3,744.21. The CSI 300 index rose 1.96 per cent to finish at 3,906.95. 3:12pm: The Shenzhen Composite index jumped 3 per cent to 2,177.15 and the ChiNext also posted strong gains to close at 2,576.99, up 3.87 per cent. 2:23pm: Options trading on China 50 ETF has resumed since 2 pm Friday. The Shanghai Stock Exchange adjusted the initial margin for this kind of trading in the period when it was suspended. 2:20pm: Credit Suisse has updated its data on how much borrowed money is swishing around China’s stock market. The bank estimates the total scale of leverage dropped by 400 billion yuan from May, and probably more than 1.5 trillion yuan from its peak on June 18th. At its peak there was approximately 2.3 trillion yuan worth of margin loans in the market. Despite a significant drop A-share market leverage is still high compared with other major markets, bank analysts wrote. Click on charts below to enlarge. 2:10pm: After shooting up around 90 per cent to 41 HK cents yesterday, Finsoft Financial Investment Holdings is returning to earth today, dropping 25 per cent to 31 HK cents so far. During yesterday’s midsession break, the company said it may acquire a software development firm but had no other explanation for the unusual price movement. 2:07pm: Shenzhen Composite Index stands at 2,165.09, up 2.43 per cent or 51.44 points. ChiNext gains 3.28 per cent, or 81.26 points, to 2,562.19. 2:05pm: Hang Seng Index lifts 0.77 per cent, or 186.58 points, to 24,561.86. H-shares Index stands at 11,285.69, up 1.73 per cent, or 192.42 points. 2:05pm: Shanghai Composite Index climbs 2.002 per cent, or 73.29 points to 3,734.83. CSI300 Index gains 1.77 per cent, or 67.82 points to 3,899.67. 2:00pm: China shipping stocks are outperforming Hong Kong’s H-shares index today (grey): China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL: orange), Xiamen International Port (purple), (China Shipping Development (green), China COSCO (blue), Tianjin Port Development (red), Dalian Port (yellow). Click to enlarge. 1:45pm: United Energy posts rise in interim profit. For more on story, click here. 1:41pm: Hong Kong-Shenzhen stock connect on track, but problems lurk. For more on story, click here. 1:12pm: Canada’s largest insurer Manulife share price rose 0.805 per cent on Friday morning to close at HK$137.8 by noon. This came after the company on Thursday reported core earnings of C$600 million (HK$3.53 billion) for the second quarter of this year, down 36.37 per cent from C$943 million for the same period last year. The company attributed the decline in net income primarily to the direct impact of changes in interest rates. Manulife (yellow) share price year to date dropped 7.83 per cent, underperforming the Hang Seng Index (purple) which is up 4.23 per cent this year. Click on chart below to enlarge. 1:10pm: Shenzhen Composite Index opens its afternoon session at 2,170.24, up 2.68 per cent or 56.59 points. ChiNext leapt 3.8 per cent, or 94.40 points, to 2,575.32. 1:08pm: Shanghai Composite Index rises 2.060 per cent, or 75.42 points to 3,736.96 at start of afternoon trade. CSI300 Index adds 1.959 per cent, or 75.05 points to 3,906.90. 1:06pm: Hang Seng Index rises 0.91 per cent, or 222.78 points, to 24,598.06 at the open of afternoon trade. H-shares Index stands at 11,302.92, up 1.89 per cent, or 209.65 points. 12:43pm: Both Hang Seng Index(orange) and Hang Seng China Enterprises Index(purple) went up in the morning. Click graph to enlarge. 12:41pm: Ping An Insurance (orange) and Tencent (purple) were the two most traded stocks in Hong Kong in morning trade, followed by China Railway Signal & Communication Corporation (green), Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (blue) and CKH Holdings (red). Apart from CRSC, the other four stocks all went up in the morning. Click graph to enlarge. 12:12pm: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closes at midsession on 24,604.04, up 0.94 per cent or 228.76 points. It was outperformed by the H-share index which improved to 11,303.38, up 1.89 per cent or 210.11 points. 12:05pm: China stocks bounced back in the morning. Shenzhen (orange), Shanghai (purple), CSI300 (green) and ChiNext (blue) all went up. Click to enlarge the graph. 11:45am: The Shanghai Composite Index closed the morning at 3,731.03, up 69.49 points or 1.90 per cent. The CSI300 traded to 3,901.92, up 70.07 points or 1.83 per cent. 11:45am: The Shenzhen Composite Index closed at 2,162.15, up 48.50 points or 2.29 per cent. The ChiNext Price Index reached 2563.56, up 82.64 points or 3.33 per cent. 11:34am: The Hang Seng Index is trading at 24,584.63, up 0.86 per cent or 209.35 points. The H-share index stands at 11,287.92, up 1.75 per cent or 194.65 points. 11:16am: Onshore spot yuan is trading at 6.2086 against the US dollar, stronger by 10 basis points from Thursday's close. The offshore yuan stands at 6.2178, weaker by 13 basis points from Thursday finish. 11:15am: Hong Kong dollar is trading Friday at 7.7513to the US dollar, near upper end of the currency peg. Euro/dlr weaker by 0.03 per cent at 1.0922. Dlr/yen at 124.78, stronger by 0.03 per cent. Pound/dlr weaker by 0.01 per cent to 1.5510. Australian dollar to US dollar stronger by 0.42 per cent to 0.7377. 11:15am: Ping An Insurance is trading strongly in Hong Kong, gaining 3 per cent to HK$44.60 and leading turnover. China Life improves by 1.77 per cent to HK$28.80 while AIA edges up 0.4 per cent to HK$49.80. 11:15am: Shanghai Stock Exchange called for an end to options trading on China 50 ETF, the first new equity derivatives permitted by Chinese regulators since the introduction of CSI 300 Index in 2010, due to technical issues, according to a statement on the bourse’s website. 10:37am: The Hang Seng Index moves to 24,634.47, up 1.06 per cent or 259.19 points. The H-share index trades at 11,322.92, up 1.10 per cent or 48.12 points. 10:37am: The Shanghai Composite Index lifts to 3,750.63, up 89.09 points or 2.43 per cent. The CSI300 trades at 3,922.97, up 91.12 points or 2.38 per cent. 10:37am: The Shenzhen Composite Index gains to 2,170.56, up 56.91 points or 2.69 per cent. The ChiNext Price Index lifts to 2573.61, up 92.69 points or 3.74 per cent. 10:28am: Pax Global Technology, which develops point-of-sale electronic funds transfer services, drops 16.8 per cent to HK$9.98 after publishing its interim results featuring net profit growth of 56 per cent and revenue growth of 10 per cent. Hi Sun Technology loses 8.1 per cent to HK$1.58 on interim results showing HK$27 million profit as opposed to last year’s loss, despite a 27 per cent decrease in revenue. Unity Investment Holdings jumps 11 per cent to 23 HK cents as profits more than double, based on a ninefold increase in fair value of equity investments, despite a 94 per cent plunge in revenue, according to its interim results. 10:01am: CRSC is trading on its debut at HK$6.33, up 0.48 per cent from its offer price of HK$6.30. 9:59am: Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing chief executive Charles Li Xiaojia said the planned Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock market link will go ahead. "The Hong Kong - Shenzhen stock connect is ready to go in the next three to four months. As the priority in the mainland now is to stablise the market, the actual timing hinges on when the market is normalized. But the general trend of increasing integration of markets cross the border remains unchanged," Li said at a listing ceremony at the exchange on Friday. 9:55am: China brokerages repackage margin loans into asset based securities. For more on story click here. 9:46am: People’s Daily newspaper said Friday outlining the tricky deleveraging process and deflationary pressures as the top challenges facing the country’s economy in the second half of 2015. It calls for more structural reforms on SOEs and the financial system. The paper is the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party. 9:31am: The Hang Seng Index starts the day at 24,327.56, down 0.20 per cent or 47.72 points on yesterday’s close. The China Enterprises Index (H-share index) opens at 11,107.77, up 0.13 per cent or 14.50 points. 9:31am: The Shanghai Composite Index opens at 3,692.61 points, up 31.07 points or 0.85 per cent on yesterday’s close. The CSI300 index of large cap stocks opens at 3,866.43, up 34.58 points or 0.90 per cent. 9:31am: The Shenzhen Composite Index opens at 2,132.34, up 18.69 points or 0.88 per cent. The ChiNext Price Index lifts 29.04 points or 1.17 per cent to open at 2509.96. 9:21am: Hong Kong main board companies forecasting profit increases are Xingye Copper, Huadian Power and Leeport (Holdings), while Sino-i Technology expects to turn a profit from last year’s loss. China Aerospace International Holdings also projects higher profits due to increased fair value of investment properties, even though core business turnover and profit “deceased slightly”. China Jiuhao Health forecasts its profits to shrink. Yanchang Petroleum, National United Resources (NUR) Holdings and Kai Yuan Holdings all expect to turn last year’s profit into loss, while Courage Marine Group says its losses will increase. 9:20am: The People’s Bank of China sets the mid-price of onshore yuan trading at 6.1174, stronger by seven basis points to the US dollar from the Thursday mid-price fix. 9:17am: Credit Suisse is reducing its earnings outlook for stock exchange operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEx) citing significant slowdown in trading turnover and revenues at its exchanges. The Swiss bank has reduced it target price from HK$ 188 to HK$ 180 (the stock closed Thursday at HK$ 205.4), implying 25x 12 month forward earnings. Recent average daily trading turnover in Hong Kong has almost halved compared to the first half of the year when markets in Hong Kong and mainland China were posting strong gains. The Shanghai exchange also cut trading fees by 30 per cent, starting August 1st, which will hurt HKEx as it shares stock connect revenues 50:50 with the Shanghai exchange while recent regulatory actions to stabilise the market and curb short selling will likely affect foreign fund flows into China, wrote Credit Suisse analyst Arjan van Veen. Volumes at the HKEx controlled London Metal Exchange are also weak and fell 7 per cent in June, Credit Suisse noted. The Swiss bank’s forecast implies a 15 per cent downside risk to earnings, and an earnings projection 20 per cent below market consensus. 9:12am: The combined net profits of China’s fifteen listed brokerages including Citic Securities and Haitong Securities for July shank 52 per cent from a month earlier to 7.47 billion yuan, State-backed Shanghai Securities news reports. 9:10am: JC Umbrella (stock code 1027) has announced a change of company name to China Jicheng Holdings, effective on the Hong Kong exchange as of August 11. 9:03am: Hang Seng August futures contracts are trading at 23,975, down 335 points or 1.38 per cent. 9:02am: Langham Hospitality Investments has pointed to a ‘marked deterioration’ in Hong Kong’s hotel industry amid declining visitor arrivals as it announced its interim results. Profit dropped 58 per cent to HK$80.66 million for the half, although the drop excluding change in fair value of investment properties was 12 per cent. The securities last traded at HK$3.30. 9:01am: China NT Pharma Group issued its interim results, showing a 6.7 per cent decrease in revenue to 380.9 million yuan and a 44.8 per cent increase in operating profit to 57.2 million yuan. NT Pharma last traded at HK$1.92. 8:55am: For Wall Street roundup ahead of US jobs data, click here. 8:50am: Four Shanghai listed A-share companies applied to resume trading on Friday while four companies will suspend trading in their stock. The number of suspended companies in Shanghai is 88, representing 8.22 per cent of the total. In Shenzhen, a total of six listed companies say they will resume trading on Friday, while six firms will suspend trading in their shares. Some 311 firms in Shenzhen are in voluntary suspension, accounting for about 18.37 per cent of total listed companies. 8:46am: Melco International Development has published the second quarter results for Melco Crown Entertainment of which it holds 34.29 per cent. Net revenue fell 24 per cent year-on-year. The decline was primarily attributable to lower gaming revenue in Macau, partially offset by revenue from City of Dreams in Manila which opened in December. Melco International Development last traded at HK$13.24. 8:20am: Telecommunications and tech conglomerate PCCW announced its interim results yesterday after closing. Net profit was flat at HK$1.07 billion, while core business EBITDA grew 30 per cent to HK$5.78 billion. PCCW last traded at HK$4.60. Read more here. 8:04am: United Energy Group(purple), an oil and gas company with close ties to China National Petroleum Corporation, is going to announce its interim result today. The company’s share price outperformed the Hang Seng Index in June and traded in line with the benchmark index in July. It closed at HK$0.93 on Thursday, down 2.11 per cent from Wednesday. Click on charge below to enlarge. 8:00am: Four out of five most trade stocks in Hong Kong fell on Thursday, namely Tencent (orange), Ping An Insurance (purple), China Mobile (green) and China Construction Bank (blue). Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (red) was unchanged yesterday. Tecent fell 1.1 per cent to HK$140.9; Ping An Insurance dropped 1.1 per cent to HK$43.3; China Mobile lost 0.7 per cent to HK$100.1; China Construction Bank fell 0.3 per cent to HK$6.32; and ICBC was unchanged at HK$5.34. Click graph to enlarge (percentages are against today’s opening). 7:50am: Hang Seng Index (orange) and Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (purple) closed marginally lower at the end of Thursday’s session. The percentage shown is computed from the opening and not the previous day's close. Click chart to enlarge.