The Hang Seng Index rose 0.5 per cent to 15,348.27 at 11.21am local time. Before today, the gauge had slumped 6.3 per cent since last Friday to the lowest level since October 2022. The Tech Index climbed 0.4 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index extended a retreat by 1.9 per cent.
Alibaba Group advanced 1.2 per cent to HK$66.50 while search engine operator Baidu rallied 2.7 per cent to HK$99.50 and online game operator NetEase rose 1.4 per cent to HK$136.80. HSBC gained 1.2 per cent to HK$58.65 and Macau casino operator Sands China climbed 1.2 per cent to HK$20.95.
The Hang Seng Index’s 14-day relative strength indicator fell below 30, signalling to technical traders that stocks are in oversold zone. In other major moves, Xinyi Solar rallied 3 per cent to HK$3.89 while developer New World Development added 2.2 per cent to HK$10.26. Both their RSI readings fell below 30 this week.
The benchmark index’s 10 per cent slide this year is the worst start since 2016. The CSI 300 Index of top onshore stocks fell to near a five-year low.
“Expectations about economic growth have been growing weaker now and foreign exodus is continuing,” said Zheng Xiaoxia, an analyst at Hua An Securities. “There’s lack of confidence in the market and the weak trading pattern will prolong.”
08:39
Hong Kong finance chief rules out capital gains tax for ‘foreseeable future’ for city
Hong Kong finance chief rules out capital gains tax for ‘foreseeable future’ for city
Fund managers cut their allocations on Chinese stocks to the lowest net underweight in more than a year, according to a survey by Bank of America, with investors increasingly disappointed with China’s lack of ambitious stimulus plans to drive a stronger post-pandemic recovery.
Local stocks held onto gains on Thursday, even as traders abandoned bets on US monetary policy easing in March, with the odds for a 25-basis point cut falling to zero from 63 per cent overnight. Some Federal Reserve and European Central Bank officials have warned against aggressive easing bets while inflation remains elevated.
Elsewhere, two companies started trading on Thursday. Waste-treatment company Grandtop Yongxing Group jumped 40 per cent to 22.61 yuan in Shanghai and Hebei Kangnong Seed surged 64 per cent to 18.39 yuan in Beijing.
Other major Asian markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.5 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.3 per cent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.4 per cent.