Hong Kong stocks poised for best quarter in 11 years as tech giants extend rebound from antitrust-induced losses

Hong Kong stocks rallied for a second day, pushing the market towards its best quarter in more than 11 years, as Alibaba Group Holding, Meituan and other technology peers recouped more of the losses induced by China’s clampdown on monopolies.

The Hang Seng Index rose 2.2 per cent to 27,147.11. The benchmark has risen 15.7 per cent since September 30, the most since a 35.4 per cent surge in the second quarter of 2009, according to Bloomberg data.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.1 per cent to 3,414.45, the biggest gain in almost two weeks and taking its advance this quarter to 6.1 per cent. The gauge has risen for a third straight quarter, the longest winning streak since March 2017. The tech-heavy ChiNext surged 3.1 per cent to 2,900.54, the highest level since November 2015.

Hong Kong’s stock market will close the year at half-day on December 31 while mainland bourses will operate normally on full-day basis.

In Wednesday trading, Alibaba rose 6.4 per cent to HK$236.20, while Tencent Holdings added 5.5 per cent to HK$559.50 and Meituan gained 5.3 per cent to HK$287.80. Chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp soared 12 per cent to HK$20.40. Those gains helped the Hang Seng Tech Index recoup all of the slide earlier this week.

China’s biggest technology companies took a hit at the start of the week as Chinese regulators tightened its grips on the internet industry in its efforts to clamp down on antitrust and monopolistic practices.

“The bad news [on antitrust against tech giants] has been digested by investors,” said Kingston Lin, managing director of asset management department at Canfield Securities in Hong Kong. It may be possible for the Hang Seng Index retrace from the 27,000 level in the very near term, he added.

“The tech index rebound is short-term as investors are still concerned about the outlook, the lack of news and even bad news will weaken its momentum to further rise,” he said.

Some of China’s biggest phone carriers slid amid concerns index compilers will fine-tune their global benchmarks after the Trump administration toughened its November 12 executive order relating to an investment ban on 35 Chinese companies. China Unicom lost 2.4 per cent and China Mobile shed 1.8 per cent. CNOOC, a unit of China’s biggest oil explorer, dropped 2.3 per cent.

Stocks also rebounded as investors were encouraged by China’s central bank statement on Tuesday which stressed on policy consistency, stability and sustainability. Policymakers also pledged to maintain the necessary support for economic recovery, according to the statement.

Market debutants had a mixed day in early trading. Wenling Zhejiang Measuring and Cutting Tools Trading Centre fell 3.4 per cent in Hong Kong to HK$6.06, and Zero2ipo Holdings added 5.5 per cent to HK$11.60.

On mainland bourses, 3OneData soared 79.5 per cent to 61.17 yuan, Pylontech more than quadrupled to 235.29 yuan and Shenzhen Farben Information Technology surged 164 per cent to 53.01 yuan.

Markets in Asia were mixed. The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.5 per cent from a 29-year high. The S&P/ASX 200 Index in Australia lost 0.3 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi Index jumped 1.9 per cent.

China and the European Union are inching closer to an investment accord that will give European nations more access to the Chinese market. President Xi Jinping and EU leaders are expected to have a phone call on Wednesday to finalise details and clear hurdles for the agreement.

On the mainland, lithium-battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology surged by the daily cap of 10 per cent, after the company said last night that it is planning to invest some 39 billion yuan (US$6 billion) to expand its production capacity. The news has lifted its suppliers and contractors, with Wuxi Lead Intelligent Equipment up by 15.2 per cent to 84.99 yuan.