The Hang Seng Index slumped 1.8 per cent to 17,203.26 at the close, taking the week’s loss to 2.6 per cent. The Hang Seng Tech Index tumbled 3.3 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index retreated 0.5 per cent.
SMIC sank 6.8 per cent to HK$21.80 after third-quarter revenue and net income both missed analysts’ estimates. Alibaba Group Holding lost 3.1 per cent to HK$79.60, Tencent Holdings dropped 1.3 per cent to HK$302.80 and Meituan retreated 3.7 per cent to HK$110.70. The three tech giants are due to release quarterly results next week.
Casino operators slumped after Wynn Macau reported a third-quarter loss. Peers Sands China slid 3.5 per cent to HK$20.50 and Galaxy Entertainment sank 6.5 per cent to HK$41.25. Wynn Macau plunged 12.8 per cent to HK$6.08.
“China’s economy is still seeking a bottom and that means corporate earnings may have yet to trough in the near term,” said Wu Kan, an investment manager at Soochow Securities in Shanghai. “While the weakness on corporate earnings may still weigh on stocks, there is limited room for downside on stocks as most of the negatives have been priced in.”
SMIC’s revenue dropped 15 per cent from a year earlier to US$1.62 billion in the quarter to September and net income plunged 80 per cent to US$94 million, it said on Thursday night. The figures trailed the consensus estimates of US$1.64 billion and US$178.1 million, respectively.
Alibaba’s profit probably increased 18 per cent from a year earlier in the quarter ending in September, while that for Tencent may have risen 24 per cent, according to the estimates of the analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
Some 22 companies that are components of the Hang Seng Index have released third-quarter results, posting an average of 4.5 per cent year-on-year profit growth, according to Bloomberg data. That compares with a 7.7 per cent growth in first-half earnings.
Sentiment was also hurt after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that monetary policies will be further tightened if needed, signalling interest rates may have to climb further due to the stickiness of inflation.
Three companies made their trading debuts on Friday. Huashi Group, which provides branding and advertising services, rallied 56 per cent from its IPO price to HK$1.62 in Hong Kong and Folangsi, a provider of logistics equipment leasing, rose 3.4 per cent to HK$14.76. Zhejiang Forward Heating Technologies, a maker of heating exchangers, jumped 57 per cent to 21.98 yuan in Beijing.
Other major Asian markets were broadly lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi retreated 0.7 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.6 per cent.