SHANGHAI: China shares edged higher on Friday, helped by logistics stocks, while Alibaba put Hong Kong equities on course for their worst day since early October after reporting disappointing earnings.
** The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.34% to 3,532.55, while the blue-chip CSI300 index gained 0.18% to 4,846.09 by the end of the morning session. But both indexes were set for weekly losses.
** Gains in the morning session were led by the logistic sector, with the CSI 300 transportation index up by 1.2% after some companies including STO Express and Yunda Holdings reported robust revenue gains in October.
China stocks close up as new energy shares boost
** By midday, the consumer staples sector rose 0.85%, the real estate index inched up by 0.48%, while the healthcare sub-index lost 0.65%.
** The smaller Shenzhen index was up 0.52%, the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 0.29%, and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index rose 0.98%.
** However, some analysts said market participants were wary of any future developments in Sino-US relations after top leaders from the two countries held a virtual meeting earlier this week. US President Joe Biden said on Thursday the United States was considering a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics.
** In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index dropped 1.8% to 24,874.90, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index lost 1.7% to 8,884.55.
** Analysts attributed the fall to disappointing earnings from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba,, which heightened worries about Beijing's broad regulatory crackdown and slowing growth in the world's second-biggest economy.
** Shares of Alibaba dropped by 10.38% to HK$139.8 after the company forecast annual revenue to grow at its slowest pace since its 2014 stock market debut as second-quarter results missed expectations due to slowing consumption, increasing competition and a regulatory crackdown.
** "Asian equities are facing turbulence as a confluence of powerful headwinds is building -- a slowing China, higher commodity prices at the wrong time of the business cycle, and a mild rebound in household demand," said Sanjay Mathur, chief economist for Southeast Asia and India at ANZ.
Comments
Comments are closed.