Official data showed Chinese manufacturing expanded in March, beating market consensus; services index accelerated this month
Upbeat sentiment around Alibaba Group’s business reorganisation continues to fuel a rally among Chinese tech peers
Hong Kong stocks were headed for a third straight week of gains after a government report showed manufacturing in China grew more than expected, underpinning bets on recovery momentum. Alibaba Group logged its best week in three months.
The Hang Seng rose 1.1 per cent to 20,535.12 at 10.55am local time, taking the advance this week to 3.6 per cent. The Tech Index jumped 0.8 per cent while the Shanghai Composite added 0.3 per cent.
Alibaba strengthened 4 per cent to HK$100.80 and JD.com surged 6.8 per cent to HK$174.30 while Meituan rose 3 per cent to HK$146.20. Tencent gained 0.7 per cent to HK$387.80. EV maker BYD climbed 2.2 per cent to HK$230.20.
China’s official PMI manufacturing index dropped to 51.9 in March versus 52.6 in February, the statistics bureau said in Beijing on Friday. Still, the reading exceeded the median forecast of 51.5 among economists tracked by Bloomberg. The services index rose to 58.2 from 56.3, versus consensus of 55. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.
The Hang Seng has risen 6.5 per cent in a three-week surge in the market’s best winning streak since January.
Alibaba, the owner of this newspaper, has rallied 20 per cent this week, the most since the week ending January 6. Investors chased the stock after its March 28 plan to split the tech empire into six key operating units as co-founder Jack Ma returned to mainland China. The developments boosted the group’s market value by US$45 billion in Hong Kong and New York combined.
Two companies started trading today. X-ray technology company Wuxi Unicomp Technology surged 36 per cent to 207 yuan in Shanghai. Plastic manufacturer China Treasures New Materials fell 39 per cent to HK$0.64 in Hong Kong, while digital marketing service provider Powerwin Tech Group added 10 per cent to HK$0.77.
Elsewhere, key Asian markets advanced. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 0.9 per cent, Australia’s S&P ASX 200 gained 0.7 per cent while South Korea’s Kospi Index rose 0.9 per cent.