Hong Kong stocks end 2024 on a high, snapping 4-year losing streak

Hang Seng Index rises 18 per cent this year, while on the mainland the CSI 300 Index gains 15 per cent

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A woman took a selfie in Hong Kong. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:21am, 31 Dec 2024Updated: 7:31pm, 31 Dec 2024

Hong Kong stocks ended the year on a high after four straight years of losses, as an official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) report showed expansion in China’s manufacturing sector for a third consecutive month, adding to signs of an uneven economic recovery.

The Hang Seng Index climbed 0.1 per cent to 20,059.95 in a shortened trading session on Tuesday, while the Hang Seng Tech Index retreated 0.7 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index both shed 1.6 per cent. The markets will be closed on Wednesday for New Year’s Day.

For the year, the benchmark index gained 18 per cent, snapping a record streak of four consecutive annual losses after China unveiled a rescue package to spur growth, including new funding facilities for stock purchases and the lifting of home-buying restrictions.

Investors are keeping a close watch on the implementation of stimulus measures after top officials pledged more aggressive policy easing for next year. The CSI 300 Index gained 15 per cent in 2024.

A worker produces silk products at a textile factory in Fuyang, in eastern China’s Anhui province. China’s PMI gauge of the manufacturing sector was up in December. Photo: AFP

“China’s economy is on a weak recovery and the momentum is pretty weak,” said Shen Fanchao, an analyst at Zheshang International. “There’s big pressure on downward revision of earnings forecasts. But on the policy front, more supportive policies will come in 2025. At this stage, we advise investors exercise caution about the market in the near term.”

China’s PMI gauge of the manufacturing sector stayed at 50.1 in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. The reading was above 50, the number that divides expansion and contraction. The PMI report could give bullish investors some confidence that China’s stimulus measures would stem a slowdown in growth.