Hong Kong stocks waver as investors weigh stimulus outlook, weak industrial profits
Hong Kong stocks swung between gains and losses as investors assessed the prospect of China’s fiscal stimulus after an official report showed deepening profit declines among industrial companies.
The Hang Seng Index added 0.2 per cent to 20,634.59 as of 10.09am local time. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 1.2 per cent.
The CSI 300 Index slipped less than 0.1 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3 per cent.
PetroChina slid 2.7 per cent to HK$5.86 and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp lost 1.1 per cent to HK$4.51 after oil prices slumped. Xinyi Solar retreated 2.1 per cent to HK$4.12, giving up some of a 32 per cent gain last week.
Industrial profits at large Chinese companies dropped 27 per cent from a year earlier in September, accelerating from an 18 per cent slump for the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement Sunday. Profits fell 3.5 per cent in the first nine months from the same period last year.