Hong Kong market jumps 2% as wider Asia-Pacific stocks trade mixed; Japan business sentiment sours

HSBC reported on Wednesday its full year 2023 pre-tax profit climbed about 78% to $30.3 billion from a year ago, missing median estimates of $34.06 billion from analysts tracked by LSEG.

Its Hong Kong shares reversed gains to dip more than 2%, compared against the 3% gains for the Hang Seng Index. The bank’s shares have gained about 0.5% so far this year after jumping 23% in 2023 as the Hang Seng Index shed 14%.

It was last trading down 2.55%.

—Clement Tan, Lee Ying Shan

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was 2.36% higher in morning trade, lifted by a mix of health care, basic materials and technology stocks.

Leading the index’s gains are pharmaceutical companies WuXi AppTec, which jumped 6.85%, and WuXi Biologics, which climbed 5.92%.

Manufacturing company Techtronic Industries rose 4.63%, while property firm Longfor Properties gained 5%.

Other index heavyweights are in the green. Meituan is up 5.72%, while Ping An and Hong Kong listed JD.com rose 3.41% and 3.22%, respectively.

The Hang Seng tech index, which tracks the 30 largest technology companies listed in Hong Kong, is up 3.12%.

—Lee Ying Shan

Australia’s annual pay growth inched up to 4.2%, marking the fastest annual pace in 15 years, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Wage Price Index.

On a quarterly basis, Australian wages jumped 0.9% in 2023’s December quarter, largely driven by the education and training sector, as well as the healthcare and social assistance industry, government data showed. The figure matched expectations of analysts polled by Reuters.

“This quarter saw a significantly higher contribution to growth from the public sector,” the report stated.

—Lee Ying Shan

Japan’s exports rose 11.9% in January year on year, according to official data.

The reading beat Reuters’ estimates of a 9.5% rise. The country’s imports fell 9.6%, compared with projections of a 8.4% decline.

Japan’s posted a trade deficit of 1.758 trillion yen ($11.73 billion), compared with a surplus of 68.9 billion yen in December.

—Lee Ying Shan

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— Weizhen Tan

Business sentiment at large Japanese firms soured in February, according to the monthly Reuters Tankan survey. The data fuels fears of further economic weakness in Japan, after data last week showed the economy slipped into a technical recession.

The sentiment index for manufacturers stood at -1, compared to +6 in January. Separately, the poll also showed the service sector index at +26, down from +29 in January. A negative figure indicates pessimists outnumber optimists in the sector, and vice versa.

“The loss of business confidence raises worries Japanese firms may become reluctant to boost wages enough to achieve stable and sustainable inflation in a country that has been mired in a deflationary mindset for more than a decade,” Reuters reported.

The Reuters monthly poll is considered to be a leading indicator of the Bank of Japan’s official survey.

—Lee Ying Shan

Mounting inflation and interest rates have put significant pressure on several sectors — especially real estate. But some market watchers think things could be about to turn around.

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— Amala Balakrishner

Here’s how the major indexes closed:

— Pia Singh

U.S. crude oil futures pulled back Tuesday after hitting a three-month high last week as the conflict in the Middle East raged on.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for March fell $1.01, or 1.28%, to settle at $78.18 a barrel. The Brent contract for April dropped $1.22, or 1.46%, to $82.34 a barrel. There was no WTI settlement on Monday due to the President’s Day holiday.

U.S. crude gained 3% last week to settle Friday at its highest price, $79.19 a barrel, since Nov. 6. The global benchmark rose 1.5% for the week to settle at its highest price since Jan. 26.

Robert Thummel, senior portfolio manager with Tortoise Capital, said prices likely pulled back Tuesday due in part to traders taking profits after WTI booked a solid run so far this month.

Crude futures gained last week on the conflict in the Middle East after Israel launched strikes in Lebanon and vowed to press on with its offensive in Gaza to the southern city of Rafah.

Houthi militants on Monday attacked another cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel. The Iran-allied militants claimed they caused “catastrophic damage” to the ship.

— Spencer Kimball