Hong Kong stocks tick down in thin trade as property, financials drag

HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks edged lower in light trading on Monday, as selling pressure on property developers and financial heavyweights outweighed modest gains in tech shares.

Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was down 0.08% by midday, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index was flat.

Shares in rate-sensitive sectors continued to decline.

Real estate firms dropped 0.9% while a finance subindex tracking big banks and insurance firms lost 0.7%.

Hang Seng Tech meanwhile went up 0.3%. Semiconductor and PCB shares led the gain.

Kingboard Laminates surged 9% while Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor jumped 4%.

China’s onshore financial markets are closed from October 1 until October 7 for the National Day holidays.

Trading will resume on October 8.

The travel and retail sales data during the week-long holiday could provide an early signal on consumer demand heading into the fourth quarter.

Citi analysts said the Golden Week activity looks “underwhelming” based on early data.

Retail and tourism spend likely softened per traveller despite steady footfall, they said in a note.

Shares of Budweiser Brewing Company APAC slipped 2.1% to HK$5.555 in early trade, the lowest since their debut in September 2019.

The brewer says it expects to record a $52 million non-underlying withholding tax charge resulting from an internal restructuring involving some of its Chinese mainland subsidiaries to enhance capital efficiency.