Latest news with #HangSengIndex
RTHK
6 hours ago
- Business
- RTHK
Hong Kong stocks eke out small gains on opening
Hong Kong stocks eke out small gains on opening Hong Kong stocks opened higher on Friday. File photo: RTHK The Hang Seng Index rose 53 points or 0.23 percent to open at 23,291 points on Friday. Mainland stocks opened lower, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.10 percent to open at 3,358 points. The Shenzhen Component Index opened 0.13 percent lower at 10,039 points Meanwhile, China has kept benchmark lending rates unchanged as expected on Friday. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR), a market-based benchmark lending rate, came in at three percent. The over-five-year LPR, on which many lenders base their mortgage rates, also remained unchanged from the previous reading of 3.5 percent, according to the National Interbank Funding Centre. (Xinhua)
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong stocks gain as PBOC's benchmark-rate choice spurs optimism on economy
Hong Kong stocks rose on Friday, paring the week's losses as China's decision to stand pat on a benchmark interest rate offered optimism that a recovery in the world's second-largest economy would hold up. Advertisement The Hang Seng Index climbed 0.6 per cent to 23,372.46 as of 10.10am local time, trimming the weekly loss to 2.1 per cent. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 0.5 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index added at least 0.1 per cent. Sunny Optical Technology Group advanced 3.7 per cent to HK$65 and sportswear maker Li Ning rallied 2.8 per cent to HK$15.42. China Life Insurance added 2.5 per cent to HK$18.20. Alibaba Group Holding rose 0.4 per cent to HK$110.40. China left the one-year loan prime rate at 3 per cent this month, and the five-year rate at 3.5 per cent, according to the central bank. The People's Bank of China has refrained from cutting the interest rate aggressively, stirring expectations that the economy has been riding out headwinds such as tariffs from the US and a downturn on the property market. Other major Asian markets were mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1 per cent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.7 per cent, while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.9 per cent. Advertisement
New Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Bursa Malaysia opens marginally lower in absence of catalyst
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia opened marginally lower in the absence of new catalyst, coupled with the closure of Wall Street on June 19, an analyst said. At 9.06am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 0.79 of-a-point to 1,500.65 from Thursday's close of 1,501.44. The benchmark index opened 0.50 of-a-point lower at 1,500.94. The broader market was negative, with 118 decliners outnumbering 68 gainers, 192 counters unchanged, while 2,046 were untraded and 25 suspended. Turnover stood at 56.66 million shares worth RM24.34 million. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd's equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street was closed for a holiday yesterday as traders were pondering over the involvement of the United States (US) in the Middle East conflict. The US 10-year Treasury yield eased to 4.39 per cent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index (HSI) declined sharply on inflationary concerns induced by prevailing higher tariffs coupled with the conflict in the Middle East. This also disrupts global crude oil supply and could be inflationary as well. Back home, the FBM KLCI on Thursday closed just above the 1,500 level, likely due to continued foreign selling. "Nonetheless, we would advocate investors to accumulate blue chips if and when the index dips below the 1,500 mark at around the 1,480 threshold," Thong told Bernama. Among heavyweights, Maybank gained 2.0 sen to RM9.62, Tenaga Nasional fell 4.0 sen to RM14.18, CIMB was 1.0 sen higher at RM6.59, while Public Bank, IHH Healthsare and CelcomDigi remained unchanged at RM4.19, RM6.85 and RM3.82 respectively. Among the most active stocks, Velesto Energy was flat at 18.5 sen, Magma eased half-a-sen to 46 sen, Pavilion REIT was down 6.0 sen to RM1.48, Aizo dipped half-a-sen to 8.0 sen and Dataprep added half-a-sen to 12 sen. On the index board, the FBM Emas Index lost 7.90 points to 11,215.84, the FBMT 100 Index shed 7.68 points to 10,996.32, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index declined 15.09 points to 11,217.80. The FBM 70 Index lost 18.82 points to 16,074.63 and the FBM ACE Index dropped 24.59 points to 4,390.46. By sector, the Plantation Index narrowed 4.34 points to 7,214.27, while the Energy Index declined by 0.71 of-a-point to 738.94. The Financial Services Index rose 19.36 points to 17,349.51, but the Industrial Products and Services Index slid 0.20 of-a-point to 148.04.
South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Middle East tensions not likely to disrupt recovery for Hong Kong stocks: Citigroup
The US bank said it expected Hong Kong's benchmark to climb to 26,000 in the first half of 2026, assuming geopolitical tensions eased and policy support remained steady. 'China faces deflationary pressures rather than inflation, so even if imported energy costs rise, the pass-through effect on corporate earnings is expected to be minimal,' said Pierre Lau, China equity strategist at Citigroup. 'In that context, a modest increase in energy costs is not necessarily negative.' He added that greater geopolitical uncertainty could prompt US-based fund managers to direct more capital to mainland Chinese and Hong Kong assets. In terms of sectors, Citigroup upgraded mainland consumer stocks to overweight from neutral, citing their relative insulation from tariffs and the likelihood of benefits from government subsidies and stimulus measures like consumption vouchers. But the bank downgraded the transport sector to neutral due to the negative impact of higher global freight costs amid trade tensions. The Hong Kong stock market rebounded from multi-year lows earlier this year, with the Hang Seng Index rising 16 per cent year-to-date, outperforming major global gauges. The index has been supported by a recovery in southbound inflows, improving risk appetite and a pickup in initial public offering (IPO) activity, Citigroup said.
RTHK
a day ago
- Business
- RTHK
HK stocks end up plunging as Mideast fuels selloff
HK stocks end up plunging as Mideast fuels selloff The Hang Seng Index ended the day sharply down by 472.95 points, or 1.99 percent, to close at 23,237.74. File photo: RTHK Stocks in mainland China and Hong Kong ended up tumbling on Thursday as mounting conflict in the Middle East rattled investor confidence, fuelling a broad selloff across sectors. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index ended trading for the day sharply down 472.95 points, or 1.99 percent, to close at 23,237.74. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index lost 2.13 percent to end at 8,410.94 while the Hang Seng Tech Index dipped 2.42 percent to close at 5,088.32. Tech and healthcare sectors were among biggest losers, down 2.4 percent and 3.2 percent respectively. Seasoning maker Foshan Haitian Flavouring surged as much as 4.7 percent in its first day of trading in Hong Kong. The market's losses came as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said the outlook for the direction of the Hong Kong dollar and for interbank rates remains uncertain due to carry trades and other factors. The city's de-facto central bank made the comments in response to the US Federal Reserve's overnight decision to keep rates unchanged. Up north, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended down 0.79 percent at 3,362.11 while the Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.21 percent lower at 10,051.97. The combined turnover of these two indices stood at over 1.25 trillion yuan, up from 1.19 trillion yuan on the previous trading day. Shares in the chemical fiber, apparel and transportation sectors suffered the most, while those related to oil, media and entertainment rallied. The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 1.36 percent to close at 2,026.82. Weakness was across the board, with the CSI rare earth sector sub-index down 1.9 percent, the real estate index down 1.7 percent and the defence sub-index down 1.8 percent. Sentiment across the region remained weak as geopolitical conflicts showed no sign of easing, with Iran and Israel exchanging further air strikes on Thursday, while the United States weighed the possibility of joining the attacks on Iran. Meanwhile, this week's much-hyped Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai offered few fresh measures to bolster the market, also leaving investors in search of policy direction. The market is now "switching back to defensive mode", with indexes and volume both weak, analysts at Goldman Sachs said in a client note. Though sentiment has improved after a Sino-US trade truce last month in Geneva, China's long-term prospects remain in doubt, according to the Bank of America's latest fund manager survey. The survey noted that most fund managers in Asia still expect a structural de-rating to get underway in the world's second-largest economy. (Reuters/Xinhua)
