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Georgina Lee

Deb Price

China markets suffered a second straight day of losses, while the Hang Seng couldn't hold onto afternoon gains and ended unchanged. 
Please send any questions to deb.price@scmp.com .
-- Georgina Lee and Deb Price in Hong Kong  


Stocks Blog: Bears snack on China markets for second straight day 

A bear catches a salmon in Brooks Falls in Alaska. Photo: Shutterstock


The bull sculpture at Exchange Square in Hong Kong. Photo: David Wong


Alamy

Hong Kong’s MPF managers lobby for access to Shanghai and Shenzhen stocks to avoid missing out on the world’s biggest bull run

Business

Markets

The average savings for a Hong Kong individual from the MPF scheme is around HK$380,000. Photo: Jonathan Wong

***PAY PER USE. Please re-download from vendor website.*** Shanghai Stock Exchange Shutterstock 116779684

Sally Wong Chi-ming, CEO of Hong Kong Investment Funds Association, attends panel discussion hosted by HKIFA at Joint Professional Centre in Central. 15SEP16 SCMP / Dickson Lee

Exterior view of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange building in the Futian District, Shenzhen. 02APR18 SCMP / Roy Issa

Crystal Ball: Consumer, auto stocks smart plays in China, says UBS
Crystal Ball: Tough trade deal could hurt China equities, BofAML says


We've got you covered. Catch up on the big moves of the day in the Hong Kong and mainland stock markets.


China markets

Stocks

China economy

Live

Overnight markets/ What futures foretell
-- Overnight in US markets, S&P 500 was up 0.1 per cent, Nasdaq was up 0.22 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down a bit by 0.18 per cent.
-- Hong Kong futures were 0.6 per cent lower, while the China A50 futures added 0.14 per cent.
IPO debuts: None
Economic statistics/Central Bank action:
-- Hong Kong March consumer price index (CPI) composite
Corporate earnings:
China Coal (1898 HK)
China Unicom (762 HK)
China United Network (600050 CH)
Guosen Securities (002736 CH)
TCL (000100 CH)
Ping An Bank (000001 CH)
SF Holding (002352 CH)
Good reads: Fund managers have urged Hong Kong’s pension regulator to include the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets in its list of approved exchanges so that the Mandatory Provident Fund can invest more of its assets in mainland-listed companies, reports Enoch Yiu.  
 


Morning guidance 

Fund managers have urged Hong Kong’s pension regulator to include the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets in its list of approved exchanges so that the Mandatory Provident Fund can invest more of its assets in mainland-listed companies, reports Enoch Yiu.
At present, only about 1 per cent of the MPF’s assets are invested in A shares because of  investment restrictions.
“We believe that A shares are poised to be a core part of a diversified portfolio,"  said Sally Wong Chi-ming, chief executive of Hong Kong Investment Funds Association, which represents the city’s fund management industry. "In view of the increasing commitments of the mainland authorities to further open up the capital markets that A shares are being included in more and more global indices, it is imperative to add them to the list so as to enable employees to effectively enjoy the growth opportunities provided by the second largest economy.”
Read full story here.
 


MPF should offer more mainland-listed equities, fund managers say

Mainland developer Jiayuan International Group, which is the co-owner of the tiniest flat project in Hong Kong, says it has entered into strategic cooperation agreements with various financial institutions in the mainland under which the lines of credit in an amount of 43 billion yuan will be granted.
Meanwhile, the group also announced that it would offer private placement notes to raise US$225 million to strengthen its financial position.
The 356-unit T Plus in Tuen Mun features homes in layouts as small as 128 square feet priced from around HK$2.85 million (US$360,000).
Only two units have been sold since the project was launched in December.
-- Sandy Li


China developer Jiayuan adds lines of credit

Shangri-La Asia (69 HK) fell 2.7 per cent to HK$10.82, on the first day of trading since the Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.
The Shangri-La in Colombo was one of three luxury hotels targeted by bombers who also hit churches, leaving nearly 300 dead and 500 wounded.
On its Colombo hotel website, it says, "We are deeply saddened and shocked by the attacks in Colombo and we will continue to work closely with local authorities and emergency services to provide our fullest assistance and support to all affected parties."
On its Facebook site, it said that three of its staff were killed in the attacks. It has closed the hotel -- which suffered extensive damage -- until further notice.
-- Deb Price 


Shangri-La Asia falls after Sri Lanka bombings

Hong Kong stocks began the week after the four-day Easter long weekend down by 0.24 per cent.
Limiting the losses were selective oil stocks, such as CNOOC (883 HK), which was up 1.2 per cent at HK$14.92, and PetroChina (857 HK), up 2 per cent at HK$5.14.
On Monday, Brent crude rose to above US$74 a barrel, the highest level since November, as the US government announced measures to further curb Iran’s oil exports, demanding countries to cut oil imports to zero, which put pressure on global supplies.
In China, most key indexes were down at the open. The CSI 300 edged down 0.12 per cent, or 4.71 points, to 4,020.9. The Shanghai Composite was down 0.23 per cent, or 7.32 points, to 3,207.72. Losses in the Shenzhen Component Index were larger, at 0.51 per cent, or 52.48 points, to 10,171.83.
-- Georgina Lee


Mainland, Hong Kong benchmarks start lower 

Chinese software developer Koal Software (603232 CH) fell 3.16 per cent 41.96 yuan, failing to get a boost from a new outperform rating at Industrial Securities.
-- Deb Price
 


Koal Software gets new outperform rating 

China Galaxy Securities (6881 HK) fell 2.7 per cent to HK$5.42, on the heels of J.P. Morgan cutting it to underweight. 
The securities brokerage has been on a tear this year, rising 60 per cent as of its most recent close. Of analysts tracked by Bloomberg, seven call it a buy, four a hold and two a sell, with a target price of HK$5.85.
-- Deb Price 
 


China Securities cut to underweight by J.P. Morgan

Chinese automaker Chongqing Changan Automobile (200625 CH) was trading down 0.9 per cent to 9.31 yuan after reporting Monday night that its net profit for 2018 plunged 90.5 per cent to 680.73 million yuan.
That missed the consensus by analysts tracked by Bloomberg of US$1.83 billion yuan.
The Shenzhen-listed company said its sales for 2018 were 2.14 million units, down 25.6 per cent from a year earlier, with a market share decline of 2.35 percentage points to 7.6 per cent.
The company said its disappointing results came as sales growth for the entire Chinese auto industry declined for the first time in 28 years.
“The business objective of the board of directors ... in 2019 is to work hard to produce and sell more than 2.15 million vehicles,” the company said in the results statement.
-- Georgina Lee


Chongqing Changan Automobile falls on net profit miss

Sichuan Tianyi  (600378 CH) rose 1 per cent to 14.15 yuan, after it was rated a new buy at Pacific Securities, with a price target of 20 yuan.
The Chinese company focuses on developing and manufacturing gas separation technology.
-- Deb Price 
 


Sichuan Tianyi rated new buy at Pacific Securities 

Shares of smartphone selfie app Meitu (1357) and Leyou Technologies (1089 HK) were trading down on news that Meitu failed to get enough shareholder votes to buy a 31 per cent stake in Dreamscape Horizon, a wholly-owned unit of Leyou.
After the Hong Kong market closed on Thursday for the Easter holiday, Meitu announced that its proposal had lost for it to buy a 31 per cent stake in Dreamscape, which is engaged in the development and publishing of online multiplayer video games. In the unsuccessful HK$2.69 billion deal, Meitu would have issued 991.4 million of its shares. The transaction would have given Meitu Inc. the right to also receive dividends from a Dreamscape Horizon’s subsidiary starting this year.
Shares of Meitu were down 6.27 per cent, at HK$3.14 and below its 50-day moving average of HK$3.59, while Leyou Technologies was down 6.8 per cent, at HK$2.33.
-- Georgina Lee


Meitou, Leyou fall after shareholders disapprove of unit's stake sale

UBS Group boosted the year-end target of the CSI 300 Index of Chinese big-caps to 4,150 from 3,800, Gao Ting, a strategist at the Swiss bank, wrote in a note today.
The target implies a 3.1 per cent gain from the gauge’s Monday close.
The call came after UBS’s macro team lifted China’s 2019 growth projection to 6.4 per cent from 6.1 per cent on prospects of a recovery in the property market and resilient consumption. Higher nominal GDP growth would lead to faster earnings increases this year, which were estimated at 7.3 per cent this year, Gao said.
UBS recommends buying consumer and auto stocks in China and avoiding infrastructure-related names.
-- Zhang Shidong 


Crystal Ball: Consumer, auto stocks smart plays in China, says UBS

A tough trade deal with strong enforcement could be hard on China equities, say analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
The market will be looking at how likely trade tensions may resurface. 
"From this perspective, the more stringent the conditions and the stronger the enforcement mechanism, the more negative the market may view the deal. This is especially so for China equities -- the harsher the terms, the more the deal may hurt domestic players, in general, in our view," the analysts wrote.
"To use digital trade as an example, if China agrees to a complete opening with enforceable benchmark, the chances of the deal breaking down reasonably soon could be high or the deal may hurt local players."
The Wall Street Journal reports that the deal in the works could be signed in late May or June.
The analysts said there is more likely a downside surprise than an upside surprise. 
The analysts will be looking at such issues as concrete measures on intellectual protection, market opening in industries beyond what China has promised, and how much of tariffs will remain and what type of retaliation will be allowed. 
"[W]e believe that the market currently expects China to agree to big orders of American agriculture and energy products but no substantial concession on structural issues -- only some moderate market opening measures, a vague promise not to force technology transfer, little concession on industry policy, and a reiteration of its existing currency policy, i.e., not to devalue Rmb to boost export ...  on enforcement,  tariffs on US$50bn goods to stay; both sides to establish enforcement offices, and allowed to retaliate if the other side, fails to meet its pledges," the analysts wrote.
-- Deb Price 
 


Crystal Ball: Tough trade deal could hurt China equities, BofAML says

Creditors have seized the assets of the HNA Group's CWT International (521) unit in Singapore, China and the US, after the logistics firm missed a 9 am April 17 deadline to repay HK$1.4 billion (US$179 million) of debt.
Trading in CWT's shares were halted as of last week. Shares of Hainan Airlines (600221) , China's fourth-largest carrier and a mainstay of the indebted HNA group, fell by as much as 1.8 per cent in a declining Shanghai market to 2.20 yuan.
-- Eugene Tang


Hainan Airlines shares fall as creditors seize assets of HNA's CWT 

A "significant" increase in pork prices is ahead in the second half of this year, likely exceeding the record high in 2016, senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said at a news conference.
The outbreak of African swine fever beginning last August has led to 1.02 million pigs being killed. 
“During the first week of April, the price of pork has increased 17.4 per cent from March, at 15.15 yuan per kilogram. Compared to a year-ago, the price increase is 36 per cent,” an official was quoted as saying.
Pork-related stocks were up in China and Hong Kong markets. Tangrenshen Group (002567 CH) jumped 4.1 per cent to 18.15 yuan, and Tecon Biology (002100 CH) shot up 6 per cent to 12.02 yuan. In Hong Kong, WH Group (288 HK) was the top percentage gainer among all blue chips in the morning, climbing 6 per cent to HK$9.76.
-- Georgina Lee


Pork-linked stocks rally as China officials predict 'significant' increase in pork prices

Beijing became a star performer in the commercial property investment market in the last quarter with a 50 per cent jump in completed big-ticket transactions, Zheng Yangpeng reports.
Six en-bloc transactions – sales of multiple units to one buyer – with a total value of US$5.1 billion were completed by institutional investors in the Chinese capital in the first three months of 2019, according to global real estate services firm Colliers, Zheng reports.
The 50 per cent rise from the previous quarter dwarfs the 8 per cent increase in Shanghai. But in terms of absolute volume Shanghai still led the way in Chinese cities, with 14 deals totaling US$9.6 billion in the first three months.
The increase in Beijing was driven largely by a giant deal in which developer Sunac China Holdings (1918 HK) bought a portfolio of properties from the debt-laden China Oceanwide Holdings Group (715 HK) for US$7.2 billion, including debt. The Beijing part, valued at US$3 billion, is a 668,500-square metre development site outside the city’s east fourth ring road.
Sunac China Holdings was trading down 4.9 per cent to HK$39.70, while China Oceanwide was flat.
Read full story here. 


Beijing sees big jump in property investment

Terry Gou's FIH Mobile (2038 HK) and Foxconn Industrial Internet (601138 CH) reversed sharp losses to surge higher in Hong Kong and Shanghai, after Taiwan's popular mayor Han Kuo-yu announced he won't run in the primary election of the Kuomingtang party for the presidential race. He is a key competitor of Gou within the party.
FIH Mobile was trading up 3.3 per cent to HK$1.55, while  Foxconn rose 1.2 per cent to 17.28 yuan.
-- Laura He


Terry Gou's stocks run up after rival in Taiwan politics  steps aside

Shares of Shengjing Bank (2066 HK) plunged 14.14 per cent at HK$4.25, to their lowest level since April 11, after the company said it plans to issue new shares to replenish its core capital base and improve its capital adequency ratio.
In a Hong Kong stock exchange filing on Monday, the Liaoning-based bank said it will issue 5.12 rights shares for every 10 existing shares. The price of a rights share has not yet been determined.
The final offering size is subject to approval by the Liaoning branch of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and the Hong Kong stock exchange. Shengjing Bank said that under the plan it will be capped at 798 million H shares. At lunch break, its share price was at HK$4.33, down 12.53 per cent.
-- Georgina Lee



Shengjing Bank's H-shares plunge on share sale plan

Xiaomi, Meituan Dianping and other Hong Kong-listed tech giants will be available to China-based traders beginning in July, when dual-class listing structures will no longer disqualify them from access by mainland investors, Bloomberg reports.
“After long discussions between the Hong Kong exchange and the China Securities Regulatory Commission, we agreed that in July weighted-voting rights shares will be included” in the Hong Kong-mainland stock connects, the city’s Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury James Lau said after a visit to the Shanghai stock exchange, according to Bloomberg.
The Hong Kong stock operator pushed for weighted-voting rights -- which permit founders to keep control even after going public -- partly to entice Chinese tech firms to list in the city rather than the US because mainland investors could trade them through the stock connect, Bloomberg writes.
 


Mainland investors to be allowed to trade 'dual class' Hong Kong shares: Bloomberg 

Airline stocks are declining, as US$80-a-barrel crude oil suddenly becomes a possibility, following the US government's decision to stop waiving sanctions on any country that imports Iranian oil.
The price of crude oil rallied to a six-month high in global energy markets.
Aviation oil is the largest operating cost for airlines. China Southern Airlines (1055) , the country's largest carrier by fleet, fell as much as 7.4 per cent to an intraday low of HK$6.86 in Hong Kong, while its A shares (600029) fell 1.9 per cent to 8.31 yuan in Shanghai. Air China (753), the country's flag carrier, fell as much as 7 per cent to HK$9.33 in Hong Kong while its class A shares (601111) dropped 2.4 per cent to 10.15 yuan in Shanghai. China Eastern Airlines (670) , the third-biggest carrier by fleet, fell 8.2 per cent to an intraday low of 5.49 yuan in Shanghai, the biggest one-day drop since October 2018.
-- Eugene Tang


Airline stocks fall on US decision to stop waiving sanctions on buyers of Iran oil

Shares of China Molybdenum (3993 HK), the nation's largest producer of the steel-smelting ingredient, plunged as much as 10.1 per cent and before recovering somewhat and trading down 6.3 per cent at HK$3.15.
This followed it saying in a stock exchange filing that it estimated its net profit dropped 77.4 to 83.9 per cent year-on-year in the three months to March 31, to between 250 million yuan and 350 million yuan.
After excluding non-recurring items, the net profit is estimated to have declined an even steeper 87.2 per cent to 93.6 per cent.
The Luoyang, Henan province-based firm blamed the decline on lower prices of copper and cobalt, its main products.
Three-month copper futures traded between US$5,736 and US$6,509 a tonne in this year's first quarter, down from between US$6,602 and US$7,205 in the same period last year.
The price of cobalt, a byproduct of copper and nickel mining used in electric vehicle batteries, has been on a precipitous decline due to rising supply and substitution by alternatives, from just over US$90,000 a tonne a year ago to around US$30,000 a month ago.
China Molybdenum said in the filing it expects the profit impact to decrease "as cobalt price stabilises and rebounds".
For the full year, China Molybdenum is forecast to see net profit fall by only 15.3 per cent to 3.93 billion yuan,  according to the average estimate of 12 analysts polled by Bloomberg.
Copper traded substantially lower in last year's second-half than in last year's first-half.
-- Eric Ng


China Molybdenum plunges after estimating big net profit drop

The Hang Seng properties sub-index defied gains in the broader blue chips, as shares of Chinese property developers slid after a government commentary reiterated opposition to speculation in the property market.
“Judging from our country’s demographic, financial and household leverage levels today, the margin for further upside in China’s property prices remains very narrow,” the commentary from the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China said.
In a November report, Fitch Ratings said that China’s nationwide housing sales value may drop by up to 10 per cent this year, driven primarily by a decline in lower-tier city sales.
China Overseas Land and Investment (688 HK) dropped 2 per cent, to HK$28.15, and Country Garden Holdings (2007 HK) lost 3 per cent to HK$12.54. Outside the blue chip index, Sunac China Holdings (1918 HK) dropped 4 per cent, to HK$40.05, which was its biggest drop since April 4. 
-- Georgina Lee


HK-listed properties down after Chinese government’s anti-speculation commentary

SMCP, a French fashion group acquired by Chinese textile giant Shandong Ruyi Group in 2016,  announced it has established a partnership with e-commerce site JD.com and will offer more fashion products under Sandro and Maje brands to Chinese consumers on the internet.
The Paris-listed company rose 0.9 per cent to trade at 14.32 euros on the Euronext exchange.
But shares of the parent Shandong Ruyi (002193 CH), dubbed by media as "China's LVMH", were losing ground.
The Shenzhen-traded stock lost 4.1 per cent to 10.55 yuan, extending recent losses after the Shenzhen Stock Exchange required it to reveal risks related to its stock collateral loan conditions.  
Ruyi Group said in a response last Thursday that its controlling shareholders have pledged 99.5 per cent of their shares as collateral for bank loans, in order to replenish liquidity.  But it said the company has good fundraising channels and risks are limited for the collateral loans.
-- Laura He


SMCP establishes partnership with JD.com

“The decision by the US to not renew waivers on Iranian oil makes a tight oil market even tighter,” wrote US brokerage Sanford Bernstein senior analysts Neil Beveridge and Oswald Clint in a report today.
“While Saudi Arabia plus the Gulf States will be able to make up the shortfall in physical barrels, it will push spare capacity back to historic lows. This leaves little room for error,” they continued.
Renewed civil war fighting in Libya and more potential production disruption in Venezuela are additional supply risks, they said, although US producers may crank up production in response to rising prices and limit the room for further price rally.
“We would not rule out a return to US$80 a barrel based on our current projection, although the supply response from shale [oil production in the US] will likely cap the upside beyond US$70,” they wrote.
China and India will be most impacted by the import waivers expiry, absorbing 34 per cent and 23 per cent of Iran’s 1.25 million barrels a day of export respectively, they noted.
-- Eric Ng


US Iranian oil waiver decision 'makes a tight oil market even tighter,' analysts say

US investors, more so than their global peers, have put increasing amounts of cash to work in China region equity funds, reports Daniel Bases.
And while they have been rewarded by share prices rallying to one-year peaks, several US fund managers who invest in Asia – and China more specifically – note that there is still a reluctance to put more money to work in Chinese-based companies.
“China as an asset class: at what point will people take it more seriously? Is it time to dedicate an allocation toward China?” said Andrew Mattock, San Francisco-based portfolio manager for Matthews Asia Funds.
“Are we at a tipping point where people allocate to China like they did to emerging markets 10 to 15 years ago? I think it is long overdue.”
Read full story here.
 


US investors piling into China region equity funds 

Weak copper price has hurt other stocks besides China Molybdenum.
MMG (1208 HK), the overseas mining unit of state-owned metals trading giant China Minmetals and a major copper producer, sank 9.6 per cent to HK$3.5, while Jiangxi Copper (358 HK), China's largest smelter of the metal, slid 3.2 per cent to HK$10.84.
Argonaut Securities senior metals equities analyst Helen Lau said the copper-exposed stocks are catching up with Monday's copper price fall in mainland markets, where investors reacted to weak US property market data and a top party decision-making meeting in China last Friday that appeared to suggest Beijing's focus has been shifted back to structural de-leveraging and prevention of property speculation.
"I would say the share price reactions today are more news driven than any discernible change in industry fundamentals," she said. The June Shanghai copper futures contract fell both Friday and Monday while Hong Kong was on holiday, by a total of 1.2 per cent on the two days combined.
-- Eric Ng


Weak copper prices hammer linked stocks in Hong Kong

“The correction in stocks may have already started. It has been a one-way market this year and we’ve not experienced a decent correction, which isn’t healthy for the market,” Wu Kan, an investment manager at Soochow Securities in Shanghai, told Zhang Shidong. 
Chinese stocks’ world-beating rally is at risk of faltering, as a meeting of the Communist Party’s highest decision-making body signalled a tougher stance on further policy easing, writes Zhang.
The overheated sentiment has been cooling quickly. Now, less than 5 per cent of the stocks on the Shanghai Composite were above the technically overbought level, a sharp decrease from 73 per cent seen in March, according to Bloomberg data. The index dropped 0.3 per cent on Tuesday, extending after a 2.3 per cent slump in the previous session.
Read full story here. 
 
 


Has a stock correction begun in China? 

China's leading benchmark indexes all closed lower, extending the losses seen in previous session as the CSI 300, which tracks blue chips trading in Shanghai and Shenzhen, closed down 0.16 per cent, or 6.6 points at 4,019.01, its lowest since April 15.
Leading the Shanghai Composite Index down were industrial and material companies, with China Shipbuilding Industry (601989 CH) down 5.22 per cent, at 6.17 yuan, and China United Communications (600050 CH) fell 2.77 per cent, at 7.03 yuan.
In Shenzhen, information technology and telecom stocks lagged other sectors. Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology (002415 CH)  fell 3 per cent, to 33.13 yuan. ZTE (000063 CH) dropped 3.35 per cent, to 35.53 yuan.
But the outlook was not all gloomy.
Some analysts attributed this week’s drop in A-share to traders’ fear of the government’s retraction of economic stimulus measures. Last Friday at the Politburo meeting, President Xi Jinping brought back up “structural deleveraging.”
But Linus Yip Sheung Chi, chief strategist at First Shanghai Securities, said positive economic data -- such as the 6.5 per cent growth in added value of industrial output for the first quarter and GDP growth of 6.4 per cent -- should provide support to the stock market in near term.
“Chinese benchmark indexes rose a lot during the first quarter. I see the recent declines as a bleep of consolidation of previous gains. The Shanghai Composite Index should see good support at 3,100 level,” said Yip. The Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.51 per cent, or 16.45 points at 3,198.59.
-- Georgina Lee


Crystal Ball: A falling Shanghai would find 'good support' at 3,100, says Linus Yip Sheung Chi

Overseas traders sold combined 5.97 billion yuan (US$888.4 million) of mainland-traded stocks through the exchange link programme today, as connect trading resumed after being shut three days due to the Easter holiday.
That was the biggest sell-off since March 25, when a record 10.4 billion yuan of Chinese stocks was dumped. Sentiment about the world’s best-performing stock market this year has weakened since a recent Politburo meeting signalled less effort will be made to stimulate growth.
-- Zhang Shidong


Foreign investors dump most Chinese stocks in month as connect trading resumes

Chinese property stocks kept gains in check on the Hang Seng Index.
Hong Kong stocks ended flat, though the losses seen in the morning session narrowed after traders returned from the Easter holiday. The Hang Seng Index ticked down just 0.02 points to close at 29,963.24. Turnover of the main board was at HK$107.18 billion.
Limiting the gains in the blue chip index were property stocks. Chinese property developers fell: Country Garden (2007 HK), was down 2.94 per cent, at HK$12.56, while China Overseas Land & Investment (688 HK) dropped 1.74 per cent to HK$28.25.Their losses came after a commentary from the Political Bureau of the Communist party of China Central Committee, published by the Economic Information Daily today, reiterated the government’s stance against further speculation on the property market. It also said that further upside for property prices remains very narrow.
But buying interests for companies that have reported positive earnings remains robust, said Linus Yip, chief strategist at First Shanghai Securities.
“Despite the Hang Seng Index closing flat today, we could see that companies with solid (first quarter) results are attracting capital. I don’t see any deterioration of the market sentiments,” said Yip, adding that the Hang Seng Index could still be supported by further earning news from Chinese banks due out in the next two weeks.
China Tower (778 HK) was up 3.64 per cent at HK$2.28. It was the second-most traded stock in volume, with 830.5 million shares swapping hands after Bank of China International set its target price at HK$2.42 with a buy recommendation.
The Hang Seng Index is up 15.9 per cent in 2019.
-- Georgina Lee
 
