Hong Kong Stocks Flirt With Correction Before Alibaba, HKEX Earnings As Traders Lose Hopes on Faster Fed Downshift

South China Morning Post2023-02-23

Hong Kong stocks flirted with a correction amid expectations better corporate earnings from Alibaba Group Holding and other industry leaders will help justify gains from China reopening bets. Caution prevailed as traders bet on higher US rates to contain inflation.

The Hang Seng Index climbed 0.1 per cent to 20,450.66 at 10.22am local time. The Tech Index jumped 1 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index was little changed.

Alibaba jumped 1.3 per cent to HK$94.20 while NetEase added 3 per cent to HK$137.70 and hotpot chain Haidilao added 1.5 per cent to HK$19.36. Smartphone maker Xiaomi added 0.2 per cent to HK$12.26 and bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) added 0.5 per cent to HK$329.

Today’s advance helped the market skirt a 10 per cent technical correction for now. The Hang Seng Index has lost more than 9 per cent from the peak on January 27, contributing to a HK$320 billion (US$40.8 billion) sell-off in the broader market. Mainland Chinese funds took HK$6.9 billion off the table, while hedge funds also withdrew.

Alibaba Group, the owner of this newspaper, will report its December quarter report card later today, with analysts expecting a 73 per cent jump in earnings. Game developer NetEase, HKEX and casino firm Galaxy Entertainment are also due to reports later today.

“The China reopening story has been exhausted,” said Gary Ng, a senior economist in Hong Kong at Natixis. “The [recent] fall reflects the oscillation between further Fed rate hikes and worries about corporate profits.”

Search engine operator Baidu on Wednesday reported a 51 per cent jump in operating profit, beating consensus estimates, while top-line sales also exceeded forecasts. The stock declined 1.4 per cent to HK$138.50, after surging 1.7 per cent on Wednesday.

Gains were limited after interest-rate traders raised their bets on more tightening by the Federal Reserves as policymakers delivered hawkish tones in the minutes of its last rate meeting. The odds of the Fed funds rate reaching 5.25 per cent to 5.50 per cent in the June meeting have risen to 59 per cent, versus 46 per cent a week ago, according to data compiled by CME Group.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.9 per cent and the S&P ASX 200 in Australia retreated 0.3 per cent. Nikkei was closed today due to a public holiday.

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