Alibaba Group, Tencent rally as traders bet the latest billion-dollar fines will mark the end of China’s tech sector crackdown
Hong Kong developers also jump on measures to ease mortgage financing limits for first-time house buyers, brightening home sales outlook
Hong Kong stocks rose by the most in a week, led by a surge in Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings as traders bet the latest billion-dollar fines will unshackle both entities from further regulatory clampdown. Gains were limited by a report showing deflation deepened in mainland China.
The Hang Seng Index advanced 1.6 per cent to 18,659.20 at 10.26am local time to rebound from a five-week low. The Tech Index increased 2.2 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.4 per cent.
Alibaba Group jumped 4.9 per cent to HK$88.45, following an 8 per cent rally in New York trading on Friday in the stock’s biggest gain since March. Tencent gained 2.4 per cent to HK$334.60. Tech peers like Meituan added 2.6 per cent to HK$122.20 while Baidu strengthened 1.5 per cent to HK$139,40.
The People’s Bank of China last week penalised Ant Group, an Alibaba Group Holding affiliate, 7.12 billion yuan (US$984.3 million) in what analysts deemed as the closure to years of crackdown on unfair market practices. The central bank fined Alipay 3.09 billion yuan and Tenpay 2.99 billion yuan.
Alibaba Group is the owner of this newspaper.
Elsewhere, Sun Hung Kai Properties advanced 0.5 per cent to HK$95.60 while Henderson Land climbed 1.5 per cent to HK$23 and CK Asset added 1 per cent to HK$42.45. The city’s monetary authority relaxed mortgage financing limits to help spur demand from first-time house buyers, marking the first major easing measures since 2009 that brightens the outlook for home sales.
Consumer prices in China stalled in June from a year earlier, after gaining 0.2 per cent in May, the statistics bureau said on Monday. Producer prices shrank 5.4 per cent, adding to 4.6 per cent decline from May.
Three stocks debuted on Monday. Hengong Precision Equipment jumped 19 per cent to 44.10 yuan in Shenzhen, and Guangdong Skychem Technology soared 63 per cent to 89.53 yuan in Shanghai, while Wise Living Technology fell 0.6 per cent to HK$3.60 in Hong Kong.
Elsewhere, key Asian markets were mixed. The Nikkei 225 in Japan lost 0.1 per cent while the Kospi in South Korea gained 0.3 per cent and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia added 0.3 per cent.