Hong Kong stocks gain as Alibaba, JD.com lead tech group before fresh reports signalling better China economic health
- Today’s advance added to Thursday’s 2.4 per cent rally before reports next week signalling better economic health in China
- CNOOC, Sinopec and PetroChina all benefited from stronger oil prices as recession fears diminished
The Hang Seng Index added 0.5 per cent to 20,175.62 at the close of Friday trading, reversing an earlier loss. The benchmark rose 2.4 per cent a day earlier, the most in three weeks. The Tech Index gained 0.6 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.2 per cent.
Li Ning rallied 4.8 per cent to HK$70.10 and Alibaba Group Holding advanced 1.3 per cent to HK$92.90. China’s top oil explorer CNOOC rose 2.5 per cent to HK$10 and Sinopec gained 1.9 per cent to HK$3.73. PetroChina added 1.2 per cent to HK$3.52. Oil prices were set for a weekly gain with recession fears easing.
Among Chinese tech stocks, Alibaba Group Holding climbed 1.3 per cent to HK$92.90 after SoftBank trimmed its stake via forward contracts, easing stock overhang risk in the market. Meituan gained 1.5 per cent to HK$179.10 while JD.com rose 0.6 per cent to HK$222.60.
“Daily market turnover remained low in the recent trading days” showing investors prefer to stay on the sideline, said KGI Securities in a Friday note. The stock market is likely to range-trade at current levels today, it added.
