Hong Kong Stocks Extended Their Losses Though JD.com’s Robust Results Tried to Boost Sentiment

South China Morning Post2023-05-12

Hong Kong stocks rose for the first time in three days as strong earnings from JD.com countered weak US job data that pointed to cooling economic activity.

The Hang Seng Index slid 0.35 percent to 19,806.61 as of 10.45am local time. The Hang Seng Tech Index advanced 0.84 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.52 percent.

E-commerce giant JD.com surged 6.67 percent to HK$144, the best performer on the Hang Seng Index, after first-quarter operating profit increased 57 percent from a year earlier. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) advanced 3.7 percent to HK$20.85 after reporting it expects a recovery in capacity utilisation and wafer shipments this quarter.

The latest data showed US initial jobless claims reached the highest since October 2021 and producer prices rose at a lower-than-estimated pace in April. While the numbers vindicated the argument for the Federal Reserve to pause the cycle of interest-rate increases, they also put investors on edge about a looming recession.

What moved the Hang Seng Index?

Two companies started trading on the mainland. Shenzhen Manst Technology, a coating technology company, rose 26 percent to 97 yuan in Shenzhen and Ningxia Juneng Robotics, a maker of industrial robots, jumped 69 percent to 9.31 yuan in Beijing.

Other major Asian markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.9 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi retreated 0.5 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.1 percent.

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