PetroChina has lifted 2.19 per cent to HK$7.45, Sinopec has gained 1.91 per cent to HK$5.88, and CNOOC is up 1.62 per cent to HK$10.04.

2:03pm: The Shanghai Composite Index moves to 3,896.90, up 10.58 points or 0.27 per cent. The CSI300 is almost level at 4,017.93, up 1.80 points or 0.04 per cent. 

2:03pm: The Shenzhen Composite Index improves to 2,257.78, up 8.60 points or 0.38 per cent. The ChiNext Price Index moves to 2,628.22, up 6.03 points or 0.23 per cent.

2:02pm: The Hang Seng Index teases at 23,999.84, up 0.35 per cent or 83.82 points. The H-shares index trades at 11,103.45, up 0.55 per cent or 60.66 points.

1:52pm: Casino stocks are on the slide again, led by SJM Holdings diving 6.77 per cent to HK$8.26 on its grim interim results. Hang Seng constituents Sands China and Galaxy Entertainment are down 3.47 and 2.44 per cent respectively, while MGM China drops 3.12 per cent.

1:03pm: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index begins the afternoon at 23,986.76, up 0.30 per cent or 70.74 points today. The China Enterprises Index of H-shares opens at 11,089.81, down 0.43 per cent or 47.02 points. 

1:03pm: The Shanghai Composite Index stands at 3,862.06, down 24.26 points or 0.62 per cent. The CSI300 large cap index is at 3,989.12, down 27.01 points or 0.67 per cent. 

1:03pm: The Shenzhen Composite Index is trading at 2,240.29, down 8.89 points or 0.40 per cent. The ChiNext Price Index has dropped today to 2,602.66, down 19.37 points or 0.74 per cent.

12:56pm: Last night’s explosion in Tianjin is having an effect on the markets with trading in Hong Kong listed Tianjin Port Development Holdings Limited suspended this morning pending a company announcement on the explosion, according to a stock exchange filing. 

12:08pm: Onshore spot yuan is trading at 6.4051 against the US dollar, weaker by 0.32 per cent, or 206 basis points from Wednesday close. The offshore yuan stands at 6.4438. 

12:02pm: The Hang Seng Index closed its morning trading at 23,986.76, up 0.30 per cent or 70.74 points. The China Enterprises Index (H-share index) adds 0.43 per cent, or 47.02 points, to 11,089.81. 

11:45am: China indices at midsession today: the Shanghai Composite (orange), Shenzhen Composite (green), CSI300 (purple) and ChiNext (blue). Click to enlarge. 

11:40am: While the yuan dropped again today, Chinese airlines have resisted following it on this occasion, as bargain hunters send their share prices back into positive territory. 

China Southern Airlines (green) lifts 1.27 per cent to 6.37, China Eastern Airlines (purple) improves 1.33 per cent to HK$5.33 and Air China (orange) gains 0.14 per cent to HK$7. 

Click to enlarge this five-day view against the H-shares index.

11:37am: The Shenzhen Composite Index goes down 0.56 per cent, or 12.67 points to 2,236.51 at the close of morning trade. The NASDAQ-style ChiNext Price Index slips 0.92 per cent, or 24.22 points at 2,597.96.

11:37am: The Shanghai Composite Index closed its morning session at 3,862.06 points, down 0.624 per cent or 24.26 points. The CSI300 index of Shanghai-Shenzhen large cap stocks loses 0.673 per cent or 27.01 points to 3,989.12. 

10:50am: Tencent Holdings is riding its solid first half results which saw revenues up 19 per cent and profits up 17 per cent – 27 per cent in Q2. Its shares have lifted 4.45 per cent to HK$140.90 after dropping 4.19 per cent yesterday. 

Meanwhile, Lenovo Group has fallen 4.96 per cent to HK$8.05 after announcing its poor first quarter results, with profits down 51 per cent year-on-year, would lead to 3,200 white collar layoffs.

10:45am: China will maintain the exchange rate of the renminbi at a “roughly stable” level, a level that is “reasonable” and “balanced”, said Zhang Xiaohui, head of monetary policy department at PBoC.  

China will “guard against the risks of cross-border capital outflow”, said Zhang. 

China will open up foreign exchange market to “eligible” foreign institutions and extend the trading hours, in a move to prompt the convergence of the onshore and offshore yuan exchange rate, said Zhang. 

10:37am: The Shenzhen Composite Index rises 0.26 per cent or 5.77 points to 2,254.95. The NASDAQ-style ChiNext Price Index edges up 0.08 per cent, or 2.11 points at 2,624.30.

10:36am: The Shanghai Composite Index stands at 3,909.39 points, up 0.594 per cent, or 23.07 points. The CSI300 index of Shanghai-Shenzhen large cap stocks advances 0.512 per cent or 20.58 points to 4,036.71. 

10:35am: The Hang Seng Index stands at 24,003.78, up 0.37 per cent or 87.76 points. The China Enterprises Index (H-share index) adds 0.75 per cent, or 83.19 points, to 11,125.98.

10:23am: ING’s Tim Condon sees Wednesday afternoon’s support of the yuan by the PBOC as “a hopeful sign that the authorities are not shooting for a maxi-devaluation.”  

“Contagion from the CNY devaluation has created value and everyone is looking at the same things for the same hopeful signs to put on the trades. One standout is a reversal of the record 0.76 per cent USDCNH premium to USDCNY, which prior to Tuesday averaged 0.09 per cent this year. 

We argued that the panic stock market selloff in early July chilled economic activity and the July economic data confirmed it: industrial production growth, retail sales growth and fixed asset investment growth surprised on the downside.

The housing market remained a ray of sunshine: home sales growth accelerated to 21.3 per cent year on year from 18.1 per cent. The correction of the inventory overhang deepened with the contraction in housing starts widening to 21 per cent from 16.2 per cent in June. 

We argued that the economic damage from the stock market panic would be transitory and activity postponed from July to August would keep the economy on track to 7 per cent 3Q GDP growth. The increase in financial market volatility from the clumsy introduction of the exchange rate reform risks a self-inflicted wound that pre-empts a bounceback. 

Bottom line: We are reviewing our 7 per cent 3Q GDP growth forecast for downward revision. If the authorities are doing the same it will mean more policy stimulus”. 

10:18am: People’s Bank of China Thursday morning injected 40 billion yuan worth of liquidity into the system via seven-day reverse repurchase agreements with an interest rate of 2.50 per cent, the official Shanghai Securities News reports.   

10:00am: Analysts at ABN Amro expect China’s government to cut interest rates and RRR levels following disappointing July economic data. The bank expects a 25 basis point interest rate cut and a 100 basis point RRR cut. On the yuan the bank had this to say:  

“The PBoC’s surprising twist serves two policy goals: 1) supporting and reflating the economy by boosting export competitiveness and 2) showing commitment to currency liberalisation in the run-up to the IMF’s decision on RMB inclusion into the SDR basket.

The IMF recently indicated that further liberalisation is needed, while hinting it would postpone the SDR decision to 2016. Still, The PBoC will also continue to face constraints. The ‘stability-oriented’ authorities will likely not tolerate too much CNY weakness, as that may trigger more capital outflows and would raise the debt repayment burden of entities with high USD-denominated debts.

Overall, we see further weakness, and have changed our forecasts to 6.55 by end-2015 and 6.75 by end-2016.” 

9:43am: Onshore yuan trades at 6.4185 to the dollar at 9:38 am today, and the offshore yuan was trading at 6.4843 to the dollar at 9:38 am.

9:37am: The Shenzhen Composite Index opens at 2,257.05, up 0.35 per cent, or 7.87 points. The NASDAQ-style ChiNext Price Index gains 0.42 per cent, or 11.12 points to open at 2,633.31.

9:35am: The Shanghai Composite Index opens the morning at 4,033.73 points, up 0.438 per cent, or 17.60 points from Wednesday’s close. The CSI300 index of Shanghai-Shenzhen large cap stocks opens at 3,895.57, up 0.238 per cent or 9.25 points. 

9:34am: The Hang Seng Index opens at 24,006.79, up 0.38 per cent or 90.77 points. The China Enterprises Index (H-share index) opens at 11,093.05, up by 0.46 per cent or 50.26 points.

9:21am: The People’s Bank of China sets the mid-price for onshore trading in the yuan at 6.4010 to the dollar, compared to the onshore spot yuan close on Wednesday of 6.3870. The mid-price set by the central bank yesterday was at 6.3306.

9:10am: Shanghai Composite Index inches down 0.01 point to 3,886.31 in preopening trade. CSI300 Index is little changed at 4,016.13. 

9:04am: The Hang Seng Index futures spot July contract rose 0.43 per cent or 102 points to 23,822 in the pre-opening session.  

8:57am: Two Shanghai listed A-share companies applied to resume trading on Thursday while five companies will suspend trading in their stock. The number of suspended companies in Shanghai is 93, representing 8.96 per cent of the total.

In Shenzhen, nine listed companies say they will resume trading on Thursday, while four firms will suspend trading in their shares. Some 288 firms in Shenzhen are in voluntary suspension, accounting for about 17.02 per cent of total listed companies.

8:20am: Aidan Yao, Senior Emerging Market Economist at AXA Investment Managers, thinks the near term outlook for China's economy will remain fragile with possible capital outflows acceleration as a result of this week's yuan devaluation weighing on Q3 growth.

"Growth in all activity indicators tilted lower from the previous month, consistent with earlier indications from the PMIs and trade statistics.

In response to the renewed weakness in the economy, the authorities have stepped up fiscal supports lately, accelerating the approvals of infrastructure projects.

We also think there are scopes for the PBoC to cut the RRR in the coming months (we now expect 3 cuts), particularly if the currency weakness starts to fuel capital outflows.

The recent depreciation in the yuan, which we expect to continue in the near future, will be supportive of exports and inflation. But these positives need to be weighed against the risks of capital outflows, negative market contagion and a confidence shock."

8:15am: Lenovo Group, the world's largest supplier of personal computers, is set to lay off 3,200 employees in non-manufacturing jobs after net profit declined 51 per cent in its first fiscal quarter ended June 30.

8:08am: WH Group, the majority shareholder of US pork giant Smithfield Foods, reported on Wednesday an 11 per cent year-on-year fall in underlying net profit to US$405 million in the year’s first six months. Turnover fell 3.2 per cent to US$10.21 billion.  

8:08am: Hong Kong-listed Sun Art Retail Group, the mainland’s largest hypermarket operator, reported Wednesday a 13.7 per cent year-on-year fall in net profit to 1.48 billion yuan in the year’s first six months. Revenue grew 5.6 per cent to 50.71 billion yuan. It blamed the decline on higher expenses related to the expansion of hypermarket complexes and its e-commerce business. 

8:06am: SJM Holdings, one of Macau’s largest casinos operators, posted late Wednesday a 54.1 per cent year-on-year fall in net profit for the year’s first six months to HK$1.79 billion.  Turnover fell 40.1 per cent to HK$26.61 billion.

Its share of Macau’s total gaming revenue slid to 22.3 per cent from 23.5 per cent.

SJM’s share price has substantially underperformed the Hang Seng Index in the past year due to a fall in gaming revenues in Macau amid slower economic growth and a crackdown on corruption in the mainland. Click below to enlarge share price chart.  

8:02am: Sinotrans Shipping (orange), one of the largest shipping companies in China, will announce its interim result today.

The company closed at HK$1.82 on Wednesday, down 0.546 per cent from Tuesday close. Its share price underperformed Hang Seng Index (purple) from May to August. Click on chart to enlarge.

8:00am: MTR Corporation (orange), which runs Hong Kong’s MTR metro system and also develops properties, is going to announce its interim result today.

Its share price has mostly performed in line with Hang Seng Index (purple) over the past three months. The company closed at HK$35.95 on Wednesday, down 0.964 per cent from Tuesday close. Click on chart to enlarge.

 

7:56am: CLP Holdings (orange), a major electric power generation company in Hong Kong, is going to announce its interim result today.

Its share price underperformed Hang Seng Index (purple) from May to June, but it has outperformed the index since July. The company closed at HK$66.05 on Wednesday, up 1.304 per cent from Tuesday's close. Click on chart to enlarge.

 

7:53am: Hong Kong’s top five stocks by turnover yesterday: Tencent Holdings (orange) dropped 4.19 per cent to HK$134.90 as HK$5.384 billion worth of shares changed hands; Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (purple) lost 4.17 per cent to HK$207; Ping An Insurance (green) fell 2.47 per cent to HK$43.45; China Construction Bank (blue) slid 1.74 per cent to HK$6.21; China Mobile (red) dropped 2.53 per cent to HK$100.20. Click on chart to enlarge.

7:52am: Yesterday, the Hang Seng Index (orange) closed down 2.38 per cent or 582.19 points on 23,916.02, while the H-shares index (purple) closed down 1.97 per cent or 221.85 points on 11,042.79.

 

7:47am: Onshore yuan closed yesterday at 6.387 to the dollar, down 0.86 per cent from the midprice in the morning.