China Stocks Extended Weekly Losses; Anta Sports Announced Stock Buyback Plan

Li Chen
28 Aug, 2024
Hong Kong

Investors avoided high-flying tech stocks in China ahead of an earnings report from a leading artificial intelligence company. 

Benchmark indexes in Hong Kong dropped 1% amid weakness in tech stocks as tech investors around the world await the release of earnings from Nvidia Corp. in the evening in New York on Wednesday. 

Market sentiment remained weak in Shanghai and Shenzhen amid fragile economic recovery and weak investor and consumer sentiment with no near-term catalysts. 

Earnings so far in China have been mixed, and most companies have surpassed market expectations, but a weak second-half outlook has kept investors on the sidelines. 

Moreover, investors are not committing new capital to recently beaten-down stocks after four straight years of losses. 33.7 

 

China Stock Movers 

The Hang Seng index fell 1% to 17,706.57, and the CSI 300 index dropped 0.7% to 3,281.29. 

JD.com and Anta Sports traded higher after the two companies announced stock buyback plans. 

JD.com increased 1.3% to HK $103.0 after the company launched a $5 billion stock buyback plan to be completed by September 2027. 

Anta Sports Products increased 4.5% to HK $74.90, and the company said it plans to buyback up to $1.3 billion or HK $10.6 billion of its stock over the next 18 months. 

The company reported sales in the first half increased 13.8% to 33.7 billion yuan, and net profit jumped 62.6% to 7.7 billion yuan. 

The supplier of podium uniforms to Chinese athletes in the Paris Olympics 2024 saw a 25.1% surge in its online sales in the period, increasing its contribution to overall sales to 33.8% from 30.8% in the year ago period. 

The company increased its interim dividend by 44% to HK $1.18 from 82 HK cents per share a year earlier. 

Nongfu Spring dropped 11.3% to HK $26.80 after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings in the first-half period. 

Investors dumped the stock after earnings rose at the slowest pace in the period since the company's listing in 2020. 

SMIC decreased 0.5% to HK $16.32, SenseTime Group fell 5% to HK $1.12, and Kuaishou Technology dropped 1.8% to HK $39.30.