Meituan Offsets Slump By Financials To Lift HSI

Hong Kong shares eked out small gains at close on Monday after Meituan helped erase losses by AIA and HSBC, as investors shifted their focus on the upcoming US jobs data this week.

The Hang Seng Index opened about 100 points higher but soon slipped into the red and lost as many as 214 points at one stage.

But it made its way back up after lunch and managed to close in positive territory, gaining 27 points, or 0.1 percent, to finish at 29,151.

Market turnover was HK$152.2 billion.

The main contributor to the benchmark's recovery was Meituan. The mainland food delivery platform surged nearly 11 percent following its results announcement, despite a number of banks revising down their price targets for the company.

Drugmakers and other tech shares also fared well. Wuxi Biologics jumped 5.4 percent, while CSPC Pharmaceutical rallied 4.5 percent. Tencent put on three percent. Xiaomi added 2.3 percent.

But the worst blue-chip performer was AIA, which sunk 3.9 percent. HSBC slumped almost three percent.

Casino stocks were also soft, despite the Macau government refuting online rumours that the mainland would stop issuing permits for mainland visitors. Galaxy Entertainment slipped 3.2 percent. Sands China lost 2.8 percent.

Markets across the border were slightly higher, as slower than expected factory activity growth figures calmed nerves over policy tightening.

The Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.4 percent, while the blue-chip CSI300 index was 0.2 percent firmer. The Shenzhen Composite advanced one percent.

Around the region, the Nikkei in Tokyo skidded one percent, after new figures showed that retail sales in the country fell on month and factory output grew slower than expected.

Seoul's Kospi swung between gains and losses before ending the day up 0.5 percent. Taiwan added 1.8 percent. But Singapore and Australia were down.