HSI Edges Higher Amid Covid Concerns

Hong Kong stocks ended flat on Monday following last week's healthy gains, with traders keeping tabs on developments in China where authorities are battling another Covid outbreak.

The Hang Seng Index inched up 5.10 points to 26,132.03.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.76 percent, or 27.26 points, to 3,609.86, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China's second exchange added 0.85 percent, or 20.55 points, to 2,433.22.

Asian markets were mixed. Long-running worries about inflation continued to cast a shadow over trading floors, though a healthy batch of earnings has tempered those concerns in the past couple of weeks.

Reports by tech titans including Amazon, Apple, Samsung and Microsoft are on the agenda this week, and will be closely followed for an idea about what impact supply chain snarls and rising prices are having on their bottom lines.

Their forward guidance will also be of interest as they contemplate tighter central bank monetary policies and a possible hike in interest rates next year. Tech firms are usually more susceptible to higher borrowing costs.

News that troubled China Evergrande had paid interest due on a bond before Saturday's deadline provided a much-needed boost to confidence, though it remains to be seen whether the property developer can meet obligations on other notes due before the end of the year. (AFP)