Hong Kong Market falls on profit booking

The Hong Kong share market closed lower on Wednesday, 03 July 2019, as profit taking triggered on following drop in Mainland A-share market today. Meanwhile, selloff pressure mounted on fresh global trade war worries after Washington's threat of tariffs on additional European goods. Global growth concerns also weighed on investor confidence, with South Korea the latest trade-reliant economy to cut its economic growth and export targets, a day after weaker factory readings world-wide. At closing bell, the Hang Seng Index declined 0.07%, or 20.42 points, to 28,855.14. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index was down 0.54%, or 58.82 points, to 10,922.41. Turnover decreased to HK$80 billion from HK$112.4 billion on Tuesday.

Market participants initial enthusiasm over the latest U.S.-China trade truce was overtaken by fresh concerns over Washington's threat of tariffs on additional European goods particularly in a long-running dispute over aircraft subsidies. The United States proposed new tariffs on $4 billion worth of goods imported from the European Union. The newly proposed tariffs promise to add to the pain, as the EU economy is heavily driven by exports.

The new wave of proposed duties comes amid a 15-year dispute at the World Trade Organization over aircraft subsidies given to U.S. aerospace manufacturer Boeing and its European rival, Airbus. In a speech given Tuesday, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned that existing trade tensions could shipwreck the global economy or prove to be a tempest in a teacup.

The U.S. Commerce Department also said Tuesday that tariffs would be imposed on steel from Vietnam that was originally produced in South Korea or Taiwan, saying that those had circumvented U.S. anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties.

On the U.S-China front, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed not to impose new tariffs on each other's goods after the two met at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, but existing tariffs that have disrupted global supply chains are unlikely to be lifted any time soon.

The United States and China agreed on Saturday to restart trade talks after President Donald Trump offered concessions including no new tariffs and an easing of restrictions on tech company Huawei in order to reduce tensions with Beijing.

Blue chips were mixed. HSBC (00005) inched up 0.2% to HK$65.5. HKEX (00388) nudged down 0.1% to HK$279.6. Tencent (00700) dipped 0.6% to HK$360.4. China Mobile (00941) edged down 0.1% to HK$71.15. AIA (01299) climbed 0.6% to HK$86.7.

Shares of energy majors were weaker despite Jefferies' target hike. CNOOC (00883) declined by 1.3% to HK$13.44. PetroChina (00857) fell 1.6% to HK$4.27. Sinopec (00386) slipped 1.3% to HK$5.27.

Shares of property counters saw buying orders after Citi Research published a research report yesterday, expecting the home price to rise 5-10% in 2H and developers to see the second round of re-rating. Sun Hung Kai Properties (00016) jumped 1.6% to HK$134.7. Henderson Land Development (00012) shot up 1.7% to HK$44.05. New World Development (00017) climbed 1.6% to HK$12.68. Hang Lung Properties (00101) rose 1.7% to HK$19.06. Swire Properties (01972) added 0.8% to HK$31.85.

China Mengniu Dairy (02319) soared 2.4% to HK$31.45 after it announced the sale of its 51% stake in Junlebao.

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