Hong Kong stocks lower in early move, Hang Seng descends 0.8%

You might also like

shanghai shares start week with losses 25 june 2018

25/06/2018

European stock markets slide at open 25 june 2018

25/06/2018

HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks lost further ground Thursday morning, with the Hang Seng Index HSI, -0.93% down 0.7%. The mainland-China-tracking Hang Seng China Enterprises Index HSCEI, -1.42% dropped 0.8%. Major Chinese banks extended their recent retreat after several lenders released their financial results late Wednesday, showing bad-loan ratios rose in the first quarter while net profit increased only slightly. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. 1398, -2.33% IDCBF, +0.57% 601398, -1.99% and China Construction Bank Corp. 0939, -1.43% CICHF, +1.00% 601939, -1.58% declined by 2.2% and 1.4%, repsectively, after posting increases in non-performing loans and net profit growth of less than 2% each. Bank of China Ltd. 3988, -3.07% BACHY, -2.17% 601988, -2.01% slid 3.1% after its net income rose just 1.1% in the first quarter from a year earlier, while its earnings per share dropped by 3.3%. Among other banks, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. 1288, -1.13% ACGBF, -2.68% 601288, -1.24% fell 0.9%, China Merchants Bank Co. 3968, -1.46% CIHHF, +4.38% 600036, -0.65% lost 0.8%, Bank of Communications Co. 3328, -1.00% BKFCF, +5.77% 601328, -1.14% shed 0.7%, and China Minsheng Banking Corp. 1988, -1.73% 600016, -0.65% CMAKY, -0.42% pulled back 0.5%. Hong Kong-based banks also recorded losses across the board, with BOC Hong Kong Holdings Ltd. [HK:2388] down 2.7% after reporting earnings, while Chong Hing Bank Ltd. 1111, -1.08% CGHBF and Hang Seng Bank Ltd. 0011, -0.92% HSNGF, +2.10% were lower by 1.1% each, Dah Sing Banking Group Ltd. 2356, -0.35% DHSBF lost 0.7%, and Bank of East Asia Ltd. 0023, -0.29% BKEAF, +0.58% edged lower by 0.3%. Standard Chartered PLC 2888, -0.93% STAN, -0.23% fell 0.9%, and HSBC Holdings PLC 0005, -0.45% HSBC, +1.21% HSBA, -0.25% notched a 0.8% loss. In other sectors, Chinese online major Tencent Holdings Ltd. 0700, -1.40% TCEHY, -0.05% fell 1.6%, with a Wall Street Journal report saying the company planned to buy a 14.6% stake in U.S. mobile-game company Glu Mobile Inc. GLUU, +5.68% for $126 million. Meanwhile, China Pacific Insurance Group Co. 2601, -0.60% 601601, -0.79% CHPXF, +7.96% declined by 1.3%, failing to benefit from a 53% jump in its earnings for the first quarter. Ping An Insurance Group Co. 2318, -0.18% PNGAY, -0.76% 601318, +1.60% gave up 0.5%, also seemingly ignoring a 85% surge in net profit for the first three months of this year. However, New China Life Insurance Co. 1336, +1.25% advanced 1.3% after revealing that its first-quarter net income more than doubled from a year earlier. Several Hong Kong brokers also rallied, following on from a previous advance triggered by the news that China Minsheng was acquiring a majority stake in Hong Kong-based Quam Ltd. 0952, +7.58% for 7.5 billion Hong Kong dollars ($975 million). China Fortune Financial Group Ltd. 0209, +0.95% soared 17.4%, Emperor Capital Group Ltd. 0717, -17.26% surged 13.6%, and Quam rose further by 6.6%. On the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index SHCOMP, -0.10% rose 0.3%.