BEIJING: Hong Kong stocks fell; with the Hang Seng Index halting its longest winning streak in seven months, as its biggest stock, HSBC Holdings Plc., dropped the most since August 2013 after reporting earnings slumped.
HSBC was the largest contributor to declines on the Hang Seng after the London-based bank said pretax profit dropped by 56 percent. Energy shares retreated and airlines rose after crude oil slid below $50 a barrel, with China Oilfield Services Ltd. losing 2.5 percent and Air China Ltd. jumping 4.6 percent. Casino stocks declined for a second day after local media reported the number of tourists from the mainland fell, sending Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. 2.6 percent lower.
The Hang Seng slid 0.6 percent to 24,697.37 as of 1:05 p.m. in Hong Kong, halting six days of gains, its best winning streak since last July. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland stocks traded in the city fell 0.3 percent to 12,007.27. Mainland exchanges will re-open tomorrow after being shut since Feb. 18 for Lunar New Year holidays.
“Analyst have already reduced their expectation for HSBC and yet the company came in below expectations, so analysts will continue to cut,” said Daphne Roth, the head of Asian equity research at ABN Amro Private Banking, which manages about $218 billion. “Chinese tourists are certainly traveling a lot more, but they’re going beyond just Hong Kong and the usual places. I see them increasingly going to countries such as Thailand.”
