To The Moon

Stocks are still on course for the first back-to-back weekly advance since January as money managers reload their funds Central banks continue to guard against a banking crisis after recent failures in the US and troubles at Credit Suisse Hong Kong stocks declined, trimming a second week of rebound, amid losses in banks and property developers with the market wary of potential fallout from a global banking crisis and interest rates outlook. The Hang Seng Index dropped 0.5 per cent to 19,957.53 as of 10.20am local time, reducing this week’s advance to 1.8 per cent. The Tech Index climbed 0.8 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.5 per cent. HSBC tumbled 3.5 per cent while Bank of China (Hong Kong) eased 0.2 per cent to HK$25.45. Country Garden dropped 2.6 per cent to HK$2.26 and China Resource Land weakened 1.7 per cent to HK$35.25. Alibaba Group Holding dropped 0.87 per cent and JD.com gained 0.31 per cent. Baidu rose 4.11%; XPeng fell 3.74%. The city’s stock market has regained US$2188 billion in capitalisation with its first back-to-back weekly wins since January, as some investors bet the correction from the January 27 peak has ended. Still, the rally has been undermined by a turmoil among midsize US lenders and the crisis at Credit Suisse. The Federal Reserve raised its key rate by a quarter-point this week, a ninth straight increase since the lift-off in March last year. Odds on a pause in the May meeting are rising, according to Fed fund futures, even as authorities pledged to guard against inflation and contagion. Elsewhere, Zhongsheng Group dropped 1.5 per cent to HK$35.85 and China Mobile lost 1.4 per cent to HK$62.70, after both reported fourth-quarter earnings that fell short of market estimates. Meituan and Sinopec weakened 0.2 per cent before releasing their report cards later today. Asian equities fell on Friday. The Nikkei 225 in Japan weakened 0.3 per cent and the S&P ASX 200 Index in Australia dropped 0.5 per cent, while the Kospi in South Korea slid 1 per cent. $(HSI)$ $(HSTECH)$ $(00005)$