- Report cards from Chinese companies including those in Hong Kong have been encouraging, according to Goldman Sachs and Bank of America
- Hong Kong will scrap mask-wearing rules from Wednesday, ending a key part of social-distancing measures in the past three years
People walk through the Exchange Square in Central, Hong Kong in February, 2023. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong stocks rose from the lowest level this year as upbeat report cards from companies including carmaker Li Auto and biotech group BeiGene underpinned optimism about earnings outlook. The city will scrap its mask rules this week to further reopen the local economy.
The Hang Seng Index advanced 0.6 per cent to 20,066.68 at 11.10am local time, narrowing this month’s slump. The Tech Index fell 0.2 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2 per cent.
Tencent Holdings rose 1 per cent to HK$352.80 and Baidu jumped 1.9 per cent to HK$136.60 while Meituan advanced 1.3 per cent to HK$137.50. Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment climbed 1.1 per cent to HK$52.70 while peer Sands China added 0.5 per cent to HK$27.80.
Some 56 per cent of Chinese companies exceeded market expectations with their earnings reports in the final quarter of 2022, surpassing the ratios in other Asian markets, Goldman Sachs said. Profit downgrades involving Chinese stocks have also slowed this month, whose upgrades in Hong Kong accelerated, Bank of America said.
“We continue to take a positive stance towards China’s economic reopening,” strategists in Montreal at Alpine Macro said in a note on Monday. The stock rally since last November has front-run a part of the story, but China’s economic recovery will continue to strengthen, they added.
The Hang Seng Index is still headed for its first monthly loss since October with a 8.7 per cent pullback, erasing US$310 billion of market capitalisation from the city’s broader market. The index’s 14-day relative strength index (RSI), however, is approaching 30, a level deemed oversold.
Elsewhere, Li Auto fell 3.6 per cent to HK$91.40 while BeiGene added 2.4 per cent to HK$134.60. The carmaker reported a 68 per cent jump in revenue in 2022, beating market expectations, while BeiGene narrowed net loss with the help of a 72 per cent surge in revenue in the final quarter of 2022, according to exchange filings.
Hong Kong’s government will end a three-year requirements on mask-wearing on Wednesday, saying they will be scrapped for indoors and outdoors, except in certain premises. Macau on Tuesday also lifted general outdoor mask-wearing requirements.
Major Asian markets advanced, with benchmark indexes in South Korea, Australia and Japan rising by 0.5 to 1 per cent.
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