HSI Ends Flat, Bilibili's Debut Disappoints

Local shares finished little changed following choppy trade on Monday while newcomer Bilibili underperformed, as investors started the week on a cautious tone.

The Hang Seng Index came under pressure during early trade but managed to gain as many as 148 points.

But it failed to hold on to the gains after lunch, dipping more than 200 points, before ending the day up one point at 28,338.

Turnover was HK$190.3 billion.

Mainland video-sharing firm Bilibili closed down 1 percent, having traded below its Hong Kong debut price of HK$808 throughout the day.

It finished at HK$800.

The Nasdaq-listed company had slipped more than 7 percent during early trade.

Meituan dived 7.1 percent to become the biggest blue-chip loser of the day, after several banks trimmed their target price on the service e-commerce platform.

Other major tech shares also came under pressure. Tencent slipped 1.3 percent and Xiaomi shed 1.4 percent.

But Chinese property firms fared well. Longfor Group jumped nearly 7 percent to lead blue-chip gainers. China Overseas Land and Investment advanced more than 6 percent after posting a 5.5 percent rise in annual profit.

Markets across the region eked out gains after official figures showed that profit at industrial firms jumped in the first two months of the year. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.5 percent. The blue-chip CSI300 index and the Shenzhen Composite each edged up 0.2 percent.

Markets elsewhere in the region traded mixed, as investors were wary over the progress on moving the cargo vessel blocking the Suez Canal and warnings from a couple of banks that they faced significant losses from the default of a US hedge fund.

The Nikkei in Japan added 0.7 percent. Taiwan rose 1 percent. Singapore put on about 0.7 percent. But Seoul's Kospi gave up 0.2 percent. Australia trimmed 0.4 percent.