Hong Kong stocks halt two-day drop as results from China Merchants Bank, China Resources Land soothe earnings jitters

Hong Kong stocks rose to snap a two-day decline, as better-than-expected results from China Merchants Bank and China Resource Land allayed jitters about corporate earnings, and China’s central bank governor struck an upbeat tone about the property market.

Traders have a busy few days ahead as they sift through more than 20 annual results from Hang Seng Index members due this week

Developers gained after China’s central bank governor Pan Gongsheng said that some ‘positive signals’ had emerged from the property market

China Merchants Bank surged 4.3 per cent to HK$31.30 and property developer China Resources Land climbed 2.3 per cent to HK$24.85. Baidu rallied 3.7 per cent to HK$104.40 on a media report that its artificial intelligence technology will be applied to Apple’s new products. PetroChina advanced 0.6 per cent to HK$6.50 after its profits rose to a record last year.

“Expectations for corporate earnings are seeing some improvement, but that will offer limited support for the market as China reiterates [there are] no massive stimulus measures to come,” said Fang Yi, an analyst at Guotai Junan Securities in Shanghai. “The market is expected to trade in a tight range for some time after bottoming out.”

Traders have a busy few days ahead as they sift through 26 annual results from Hang Seng Index members due this week, looking for clues as to whether the rebound spurred mainly by state intervention can hold up during the earnings season. They are also waiting for a slew of US economic data that will offer further insights into the next monetary policy moves by the Federal Reserve.

Full-year earnings for China Merchants Bank increased 6.2 per cent to 146.6 billion yuan (US$20.3 billion) in 2023, exceeding the consensus estimate of 143.7 billion yuan. China Resources Land posted a 12 per cent increase in annual profit to 31.4 billion yuan, against forecasts of 29.1 billion yuan.

Property stocks got an additional boost as central bank governor Pan Gongsheng said that some “positive signals” had emerged from the housing market and that the industry had a solid foundation for healthy and stable development in the long run. Longfor Group Holdings added 3 per cent to HK$10.98 and China Overseas Land and Development rose 1.3 per cent to HK$10.96.

Elsewhere, Palasino Holdings, which operates casinos and hotels in Europe, rallied 15 per cent to HK$3 on its first day of trading in Hong Kong.

Other major Asian markets were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped less than 0.1 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.4 per cent, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.7 per cent.