Hong Kong stocks rose by the most in two weeks on Monday following a rise in China's industrial profits while investors and traders alike are looking forward to more stimulus measures from the political bureau meeting.
While the industrial data looked encouraging, the property and domestic demand require more policies and measures to be brought back in green. The politburo meeting is expected to tackle the market expectations more directly compared to the long-run policies from the third plenum.
The Hang Seng Index rose by 1.28%, or 217.03 points, to close Monday's session at 17,238.34. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose by 1.16%, or 69.92 points, to close at 6,080.56.
On the economic front, the profits of Chinese industrial firms in the first half of the year reached 3.511 trillion yuan, up 3.5% from the prior year, according to data published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Saturday, June 27. Profits in the manufacturing and utilities industries grew 5% and 23.1%, respectively, but the mining industries' profits dropped 10.8% from a year earlier.
Xinhua reported on Friday that during the first six months of 2024, about 2.73 billion domestic trips were made in China, a hike of 14.3%, citing data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. A total of 2.73 trillion yuan was spent on local travel during the half. There were 1.42 billion trips in the first quarter and 1.31 billion in the second quarter, the publication added.
According to an S&P Global Ratings report, the Asia-Pacific sovereigns saw rating stability in the first half of 2024 due to a lack of major financial surprises, but geopolitical issues will continue to pose risks. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine or that of the Middle East as well as rising US-China tensions serve as key rating risks, although inflationary pressures and financing costs will remain stable, the rating agency said.
In corporate news, Minsheng Education Group (HKG:1569) expects a decreased net profit of 64% for the six months ended June 30, compared to the net profit of 306.5 million yuan for the previous year. The company's shares fell over 6% on Monday's close.
US authorities raised the office of Fuyao Glass Industry Group's (SHA:600660, HKG:3606) subsidiary, Fuyao Glass America, on July 26 as part of a probe against a third-party labor service company. The Chinese glass producer said in the Monday disclosure that Fuyao America is not the target of the probe. The company's shares dropped nearly 7% on Monday's close.
YesAsia Holdings (HKG:2209) expects a net profit of about $11.1 million for the six months ended June 30, up 610.2% year on year compared with the net profit of $1.6 million in the same period in the previous year. The company's shares rose over 12% on Monday's close.
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