Limiting losses, Alibaba Group rose for a second day, adding 0.4 per cent to HK$72.85, following a management reshuffle in its mainstay e-commerce business.
“The market will continue its consolidation pattern,” said Zheng Xiaoxia, an analyst at Hua An Securities. Upside surprises in policies or economic data are needed to spur stock gains, Zheng added.
Chinese stocks stay unloved among global funds on banking, property risks: BofA
Chinese stocks stay unloved among global funds on banking, property risks: BofA
The Hang Seng Index has declined 16 per cent this year, set for an unprecedented four-year losing streak, as foreign funds favoured equities in Japan and India. They have also pulled their capital out of onshore stock exchanges, reducing the net inflows this year to US$6 billion, the least since 2016, according to Goldman Sachs.
Trading volume shrank as the Christmas holiday approaches, with transactions falling 22 per cent below the 30-day daily average at this time of the day, according to Bloomberg data. The city’s financial markets will be closed on Monday and Tuesday.
Two companies started trading on Thursday. Shaoxing Xingxin New Materials, a chemical product maker, surged 44 per cent to 58.97 yuan in Shenzhen. Ningbo Souwest Magnetech, which makes magnetic products, jumped 274 per cent to 30.25 yuan in Beijing.
Elsewhere, Gree Electric Appliances, China’s biggest maker of air conditioners, rose 1.3 per cent to 31.21 yuan in Shenzhen. Net income will probably increase by as much as 20 per cent in 2023 from a year earlier, it said in an exchange filing.
Other major Asian markets fell, tracking weaker US equities overnight. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.6 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi retreated 0.7 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.4 per cent.