Hong Kong: Stocks finish week lower on persistent virus worries

[SHANGHAI] Hong Kong stocks slipped on Friday to finish the week lower, tracking other Asian markets, spurred by doubts about progress in developing drugs to treat Covid-19 and new evidence of US economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Hang Seng index fell 0.6 per cent, to 23,831.33, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.5 per cent, to 9,656.19 points.

US business activity plumbed record lows in April, mirroring dire figures from Europe and Asia as strict stay-at-home orders crushed production, supply chains and consumer spending, a survey showed.

Corporate earnings of Hong Kong listed companies were generally worse than expected, which could dampen the room for a valuations recovery in Hong Kong equities, brokerage Cinda International noted in report.

Investors need to pay attention to the implementation China's fiscal and monetary policies, as boosting domestic demand would become a policy focus given the uncertain global economic outlook, the brokerage added.

China's central bank cut the interest rate on its targeted medium-term lending facility on Friday, following similar reductions to borrowing costs on other liquidity tools in the past few weeks to support the economy.

In the latest bid to bolster domestic consumption, China announced a plan to extend subsidies for buying NEVs to 2022, and tax exemptions on purchases for two years.

REUTERS