On Monday, stocks in mainland Chinese markets climbed, as did stocks of most of the other Asia-Pacific markets, as there was a slight growth in Chinese factory activity, as per a private survey.
There was a climb in the shares of HSBC after the bank disclosed its earnings results for the second quarter of the year.
Chinese markets
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for Caixin/Markit manufacturing for July was around 50.4, which put it below the 51.5 that had been predicted by experts.
The reading for the previous month had been around 51.7. Nonetheless, this reading was still better than the official PMI data that had been released in China over the weekend.
That had shown that factory activity in the country had declined in July. There was a rise in mainland Chinese markets.
A 0.21% gain was recorded in the Shanghai Composite, which saw it close at 3,259.96, while a 1.198% rise in the Shenzhen Component saw it reach 12,413.87.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index readings are sequential and they represent a contraction or expansion month-by-month.
There is a 50 mark threshold for separating decline and growth. Market analysts said that the decline in the PMI from 50.2 in June to 49.0 in July highlights the uncertainty about growth.
This is mostly because of an increase in COVID-19 cases, property market concerns, and slowing global demand.
The third quarter has already seen a poor start, which highlights risk that China will not be able to reach its GDP growth target for this year.
Hong Kong movements
After recording earlier losses, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong managed to trim some of them and recorded a rise to end the day at 20,165.84.
This was after a 3.76% decline in shares of Alibaba. The tech giant’s shares lost more than 5% at the beginning of the trading session.
In the United States, Alibaba ended up on the list of companies that could be delisted in accordance with the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act on Friday.
This saw the Alibaba-listed shares decline by almost 11% in the trading session.
The company said on Monday that it would continue to keep track of market developments and comply with regulations and applicable laws to maintain its listings on the Hong Kong and NYSE exchange.
HSBC movements
On Monday, HSBC posted its interim results, which saw a drop of $9.2 billion in pre-tax profits for the first half of the year.
This would mean a decrease of about $1.7 billion, but the bank said that it would get a 12% return on tangible equity in 2023.
The CEO also said that it would start paying quarterly dividends in the coming year and they would also be restored to levels before the pandemic.
There was a 4.96% increase in the HSBC shares listed in the Hong Kong market. A 0.69% gain was also seen in the Japanese Nikkei 225 index, which closed at 27,993.35.
A 1.02% advancement was also recorded in the Topix index, which led it to 1,960.11.
