HONG KONG: Casino stocks dragged Hong Kong’s benchmark equity index lower by the most in three weeks as investors weighed whether Macau gaming revenue forecasts may be too optimistic. Lenovo Group Ltd. rose to a more than two-month high.
The Hang Seng Index fell 0.5 percent to 22,829.02 at the close, with Sands China Ltd. and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. dropping the most on the measure. CIMB Securities Ltd. lowered its ratings on a number of gambling companies, saying that consensus estimates for 2017 Macau gaming revenue are too aggressive because policy uncertainties remain. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.6 percent.
The Hang Seng Index’s decline ends a five-day winning run that was the longest since July last year. The city’s shares have been sought out by mainland investors looking for non-yuan assets through a stock link amid a decline in the Chinese currency. This helped drive the price premium of dual-listed mainland shares over their Hong Kong counterparts to the least since October on Wednesday. The onshore yuan declined 3.9 percent in the last three months.
Lenovo surged on Thursday after researcher IDC said the company retained its position as the world’s top personal computer seller. The stock climbed 2.2 percent to lead gains on the Hang Seng Index.
