China, Hong Kong stocks drop as disappointing corporate earnings weigh

Reuters

China, Hong Kong stocks drop as disappointing corporate earnings weigh

Nov 22, 2024 at 5:11 am GMT

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By Summer Zhen

HONG KONG, Nov 22 (Reuters) -China and Hong Kong stocks fell on Friday, as investors remained cautious amid U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's tariff threat, while disappointing corporate earnings also weighed on sentiment.

** At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index .SSEC was down 0.99% at 3,336.93 points.

** China's blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 was down 1.02%, with financials .CSI300FS falling 1.25%, the consumer staples sector .CSI000912 slipping 1.36%, the real-estate index .CSI000952 edging 0.15% lower and the healthcare sub-index .CSI300HC declining 1.68%.

** Morgan Stanley noted A-share sentiment dropped with declining volumes and accelerated downward earnings revisions. The bank expects sentiment to remain volatile as the country's reflation path should remain bumpy amid sluggish housing investment and tariff impact.

** Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index .HSCE fell 1.41% to 6,935.91, while the Hang Seng Index .HSI was down 1.31% at 19,343.91.

** E-commerce giant PDD Holdings PDD.O and major search engine operator Baidu 9888.HK posted lower-than-expected third-quarter results.

** Baidu's Hong Kong shares slumped 9% by midday.

** Despite recent government stimulus efforts, in earnings call, the firm said it had not yet seen any notable improvement in advertising spending patterns or consumer spending.

** The smaller Shenzhen index .SZSC was down 0.82%, the start-up board ChiNext Composite index .CNT was weaker by 1.09% and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index .STAR50 was down 1.41%.

** Reuters earlier reported that Chinese government advisers are recommending that Beijing should maintain an economic growth target of around 5.0% for next year, pushing for stronger fiscal stimulus to mitigate the impact of expected U.S. tariff hikes on the country's exports.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index .MIAPJ0000PUS was firmer by 0.46% while Japan's Nikkei index .N225 was up 1.00%.

** Chinese ADRs .HXC fell 1% overnight.

** The yuan CNY=CFXS was quoted at 7.2461 per U.S. dollar, 0.06% weaker than the previous close of 7.2418.

Reporting by Summer Zhen; Editing by Rashmi Aich

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