HONG KONG: Chinese stocks were mixed on Friday as data showed industrial profits remained under pressure, while Hong Kong stocks were little changed in thin holiday trading.
The Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.1% to 3,400.14 points at close, the highest level since Dec. 12. China’s blue-chip CSI 300 index gave up earlier gains to decline 0.2%.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index closed flat after swinging between narrow gains and losses during the session, bringing the gain this week to 2% in holiday-thinned trading.
Sentiment was largely cautious amid lackluster economic data. Industrial profits fell 7.3% in November from the same month last year, slowing from a 10% drop in October, National Bureau of Statistics data showed on Friday.
The annual decline in factory earnings this year is set to be the worst in over two decades amid persistently soft domestic consumption. Improvement in economic data will remain heavily dependent on further policy support and is unlikely to generate a sustained market momentum, analysts at Huaan Securities said in a note.
Given the policy lull following the Central Economic Work Conference, new macro policy catalysts may not emerge until February, and markets are likely to remain volatile, they added.
Still, the key benchmarks for onshore and offshore China markets, CSI 300 and Hang Seng Index, both ended the final week of 2024 higher, thanks to Beijing’s record stimulus plans for 2025 announced earlier in the week.
The authorities have agreed to issue 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) worth of special treasury bonds next year, the highest on record, as Beijing ramps up fiscal stimulus to revive a faltering economy, Reuters reported.
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