Source:
https://scmp.com/business/markets/article/3157300/hong-kong-benchmark-trades-near-seven-week-low-regulatory-jitters
Business/ Markets

Hong Kong stocks edge up amid regulatory jitters following Tencent action

  • The Hang Seng Index rises 0.2 per cent, trades near seven-week low
  • Haidilao and Alibaba, stocks with the biggest losses this year, lead the benchmark higher
Hong Kong’s Central business district. Photo: Bloomberg

Hong Kong stocks edged up at the close on Thursday, with the benchmark hovering around a seven-week low amid concerns about a regulatory crackdown in China that has crippled industries ranging from technology and ride-hailing to private education.

The Hang Seng Index rose 0.2 per cent to 24,740.16 for the day, reversing an intraday loss of as much as 0.6 per cent. The Hang Seng Tech Index rebounded 1.1 per cent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.2 per cent.

Stocks with the biggest losses this year led the benchmark higher on Thursday, with Haidilao International Holding and Alibaba Group Holding rising at least 2.7 per cent. The two stocks have lost more than 40 per cent so far in 2021. New World Development was the worst performer, with a decline of 5.6 per cent.

In its latest onslaught, China has suspended Tencent Holdings, the operator of WeChat with its 1.2 billion users, from launching new apps and updating its existing apps as part of a “temporary administrative guidance”, according to local media reports. Tencent indirectly confirmed the reports, saying in a statement that it was cooperating with the authorities.

The punitive measure is expected to further sour sentiment around Chinese technology stocks trading in the city, which are already reeling from a new bout of sell-offs after big earnings misses by Alibaba and Bilibili. Some traders have been burned as they had bet that Beijing’s regulatory storm was nearing an end and that the battered valuations of the sector were in for a rebound.

“Hong Kong stocks are still facing a couple of issues that have remained as an overhang, such as the antitrust law, uncertain policies, the debt woes of Chinese developers and the power outage,” Central China Securities said in a report on Thursday.

Local stocks have also been weighed down by expectations of a faster unwinding of stimulus by the US Federal Reserve, a move that will strengthen the dollar and spur outflows from other economies. Minutes released from the November Fed meeting highlighted the risk of inflation and signalled a quicker withdrawal of bond purchases. The US dollar index traded close to its highest level in 16 months.

Tencent added 1.2 per cent and Meituan gained 0.3 per cent before its earnings are released on Friday.

Kaisa Group Holding, the troubled Chinese property developer, surged 14 per cent as the stock resumed trading after being suspended for almost three weeks. It agreed to sell its stake in a development in the city and asked bondholders to exchanges notes maturing next month to avert a default.

Other major stock gauges in Asia were generally strong, except that in South Korea, which bucked the gains trend.

Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.