Hong Kong shares fell over 1 percent to one-month lows on Tuesday as worries about the global outlook fuelled a selloff in risky assets. Shanghai shares rose slightly, however, as strong corporate results prompted retail investors put money back into the market.
The Hang Seng index closed down 1.1 percent at 20,658.7, a one-month low, after a late session selloff which came as the yen jumped to 15-year highs and European shares opened lower on the back of heightened risk aversion. The S&P 500 futures were down 0.8 percent at 0845 GMT.
"One interesting thing you're seeing is that even shares of companies coming out with good results are lower. That shows people in the market are taking a very short-term view and selling on good news," said Steven Leung, a sales director at UOB Kay Hian Holdings. "Long term funds are not very active right now in the Hong Kong market."
The Hang Seng index also broke through another support at the 50 percent retracement of its latest 10.2 percent rally from early July to August 9. Aluminium Corp of China Ltd (Chalco) fell 4.5 percent, its most in nearly three months, after reporting a surprise second-quarter loss and forecasting volatile aluminium prices in the second half of the year.
The world's biggest aluminium producer by market value, said it would diversify into rare earth, coal and iron ore operations as margins for its core business remain under pressure. Defensives like telecoms lent some support to the broader market with China Unicom rising 1.2 percent.
The Shanghai Composite rose 0.4 percent to 2,650.3, rebounding after dropping in the previous two sessions. The official Securities Daily reported that about 70 percent of the listed Chinese companies had reported interim results and net profits had grown 40 percent on average. Retail money, which makes up a significant portion of the turnover on China's bourses, continued to come back to the market on expectations Chinese equities bottomed earlier this year.
According to research firm TrimTabs, the cash balance in Chinese investment accounts increased for the fifth straight week, with most of the money flowing into the secondary market, suggesting retail sentiment continues to improve in China. The Shanghai Composite is up about 15 percent since early July and has outperformed its regional peers.
Steel maker SIGS Songshan was the biggest gainer, jumping its daily 10 percent limit after it said it reversed losses in the first half. "Overall sentiment is good, but there are worries that too many new share and bond supplies may sap liquidity flowing into the market," said analyst Wen Lijun at Nanjing Securities. Eight initial public offerings are expected this week, with analysts estimating they will freeze around 800 billion yuan in subscription funds.
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