HSI Down Despite Rebound In Tech Shares

The Hang Seng Index fell slightly on Thursday, while other regional markets were mixed, as investors' excitement over the potential of an effective vaccine was tempered by the continued surge in global Covid-19 cases.

Hong Kong's benchmark index closed 57 points lower, or 0.2 percent, at 26,169, on turnover of HK$167.1 billion.

Some major tech shares regained some ground from losses on Wednesday. Heavyweight Tencent jumped almost five percent ahead of its earnings announcement. Xiaomi climbed 3.3 percent.

E-commerce shares were boosted by record Singles’ Day sales. Alibaba gained 1.8 percent. JD climbed 7.8 percent.

Auto stocks were also up, with Geely gaining more than 6.5 percent to become the best-performing blue chip. BYD Company advanced 12.8 percent.

But financials suffered – AIA plunged 3.4 percent. HSBC tumbled 2.3 percent. ICBC fell two percent and Bank of China lost 1.8 percent.

Markets across the border were mixed. The Shanghai Composite Index inched down 0.1 percent. The blue-chip CSI-300 index was marginally higher, while the Shenzhen Composite Index was up 0.4 percent.

Japan’s Nikkei Index added 0.7 percent even though a September machinery orders report suggested weakness in corporate investment. The Kospi in Seoul lost 0.4 percent. Australia retreated 0.5 percent after mining shares were hit by a drop in copper prices. Taiwan and Singapore were also down.