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Asian equities had a strong day as Japan outperformed, and Hong Kong posted its first positive day since I arrived in the region over a week ago.
I have plenty to report following more than a week in Asia, with time spent in Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
Hong Kong’s short turnover was off day over day, though at 92% of the 1-year average following yesterday’s high volume decline with Moody’s China downgrade. Moody’s move reminds me of the line from the terrible movie Harley Davidson and Marlboro Man: “Always kick a man when he is down because you’ll never get a better chance.”
Hong Kong and Mainland China benefited from multiple companies announcing buybacks as management believed their shares were undervalued and worth buying. Hong Kong’s most heavily traded stocks were Alibaba, which fell -0.5% despite announcing the dates for the December dividend, Tencent, which gained +0.91%, Meituan, which gained +2.07% after previously announcing a $1 billion buyback following their share decline, AIA, which fell -0.55%, BYD, which gained +2.6% after announcing a buyback. Having visited BYD’s massive Shenzhen factory and headquarters, it is incredible that the stock is at the same level as in 2020 despite revenue increasing six fold!
Hong Kong-listed real estate developer and conglomerate Swire Pacific jumped +17% after announcing a $6 billion ($767 million) share repurchase plan. NIO’s Hong Kong shares jumped +4.87% after yesterday’s financial results versus the US ADR, which gained +3% yesterday.
Mainland investors bought a net $718 million worth of Hong Kong ETFs and stocks, with the Hong Kong Tracker ETF seeing a strong inflow. China’s Social Security Fund was in the news for increasing its stake in 11 stocks.
Mainland China was mixed after yesterday’s fall that pushed the Shanghai Composite below the 3,000 level and the Shenzhen Composite below 1,900. However, popular stocks Tianqi Lithium and CATL jumped +9.49% and +2.56%,…
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