HK stocks slip as risk appetite lifts markets up north
The Hang Seng Index ended down 249 points, or 0.98 percent, at 25,270 on Friday. File photo: Reuters
Mainland stocks rose on Friday and logged their biggest weekly gain in nine months, as resilient risk appetite helped investors look past a raft of disappointing economic data.
Hong Kong shares declined, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index ending the last trading day of the week down 249 points, or 0.98 percent, at 25,270.
Tech majors traded in Hong Kong shed 0.6 percent, tracking declines in New York.
Onshore investors bought a net of HK$36 billion of Hong Kong shares via the Stock Connect scheme on Friday, the highest on record since data is available.
On the mainland, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.83 percent at 3,696, while the Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.6 percent higher at 11,634.
The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 2.61 percent to close at 2,534.
China's CSI300 Index closed up 0.7 percent, which puts the blue-chip gauge up 2.4 percent for the week.
China's factory output growth dropped to an eight-month low in July, while retail sales also slowed, reinforcing the challenge confronting policymakers as they strive to shore up an economy in the face of soft demand at home and external risks.
Appetite for risk assets strengthened this week, with the Shanghai Composite Index hitting its highest since December 2021.
Meanwhile, the margin financing balance for stocks surpassed 2 trillion yuan, the highest since 2015.
New home prices on the mainland declined again in July, falling 0.3 percent month on month.
However, the drop narrowed slightly in major cities as more local governments rolled out incentives for homebuying.
China is preparing to mobilise central government-owned companies in Beijing to buy unsold homes from troubled property developers, media reported on Thursday.
Real estate shares rose 1.9 percent.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
3 hours ago
- RTHK
US stocks close mostly lower after mixed data
US stocks close mostly lower after mixed data Chip companies came under pressure as markets digested the economic news. Photo: Reuters Wall Street stocks finished mostly lower on Friday with chip companies under pressure as markets digested mixed US economic data. US retail sales climbed 0.5 percent in July to US$726.3 billion from June, in line with analyst expectations and a solid performance after numerous tariff announcements by US President Donald Trump. But the Federal Reserve's index for industrial production edged down in July, while the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey fell for the first time in four months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a 0.1 percent gain at 44,946.12, after earlier hitting an intraday all-time high. But the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.3 percent to 6,449.80, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slid 0.4 percent to 21,622.57. Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers said Friday's reports amounted to a "difficult combination" of data that the market took in stride. "When the news is good, (stocks) react really positively," he said. "And when the news isn't good, they just go down a little." Several semiconductor companies traded lower following a disappointing outlook from Applied Materials, which tumbled 14.1 percent as it warned of lower revenues in the current quarter while it navigates "near-term uncertainties" in economic conditions. Trump also announced plans to set tariffs on semiconductors in the coming weeks. Lam Research, KLA and Micron Technology all finished sharply lower. But UnitedHealth Group surged 12 percent after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway disclosed an equity stake in the insurer, which has been beset with government investigations into its billing practices. (AFP)
RTHK
9 hours ago
- RTHK
Tariffs on steel, semiconductors coming soon: Trump
Tariffs on steel, semiconductors coming soon: Trump Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs for Alaska to meet with Vladimir Putin. Photo: Reuters US President Donald Trump said on Friday he plans to announce tariffs on steel and semiconductors in the coming weeks. "I'll be setting tariffs next week and the week after, on steel and, I would say, chips. Chips and semiconductors, we'll be setting sometime next week, the week after," Trump said on board Air Force One as he headed to Alaska for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump said the levy rate would be "lower at the beginning" but "very high after a certain period of time," as a way to encourage businesses to relocate operations to the United States. The president said his policy would prompt companies in key industries like automobiles and artificial intelligence to relocate in order to "beat the tariffs," which could be 200 or 300 percent. Trump has also said he would employ this strategy with pharmaceuticals. On August 6, Trump announced a 100 percent tariff on semiconductors from firms that do not invest in the US. Trump has already instituted tariffs on steel, announcing an initial 25 percent levy that was later doubled to 50 percent. (AFP)
RTHK
15 hours ago
- RTHK
HK stocks slip as risk appetite lifts markets up north
HK stocks slip as risk appetite lifts markets up north The Hang Seng Index ended down 249 points, or 0.98 percent, at 25,270 on Friday. File photo: Reuters Mainland stocks rose on Friday and logged their biggest weekly gain in nine months, as resilient risk appetite helped investors look past a raft of disappointing economic data. Hong Kong shares declined, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index ending the last trading day of the week down 249 points, or 0.98 percent, at 25,270. Tech majors traded in Hong Kong shed 0.6 percent, tracking declines in New York. Onshore investors bought a net of HK$36 billion of Hong Kong shares via the Stock Connect scheme on Friday, the highest on record since data is available. On the mainland, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.83 percent at 3,696, while the Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.6 percent higher at 11,634. The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 2.61 percent to close at 2,534. China's CSI300 Index closed up 0.7 percent, which puts the blue-chip gauge up 2.4 percent for the week. China's factory output growth dropped to an eight-month low in July, while retail sales also slowed, reinforcing the challenge confronting policymakers as they strive to shore up an economy in the face of soft demand at home and external risks. Appetite for risk assets strengthened this week, with the Shanghai Composite Index hitting its highest since December 2021. Meanwhile, the margin financing balance for stocks surpassed 2 trillion yuan, the highest since 2015. New home prices on the mainland declined again in July, falling 0.3 percent month on month. However, the drop narrowed slightly in major cities as more local governments rolled out incentives for homebuying. China is preparing to mobilise central government-owned companies in Beijing to buy unsold homes from troubled property developers, media reported on Thursday. Real estate shares rose 1.9 percent.
