Hong Kong's benchmark stock index struggled on Thursday as strength in Chinese real estate developers was offset by weakness in some blue chips as their earnings reports disappointed investors. The benchmark Hang Seng index erased initial gains and ended roughly flat at 24,327.70 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index gained 0.3 percent to 10,487.45.
The Hong Kong stock market has gained more than 10 percent so far this year, but some analysts worry that valuations are getting stretched and may not live up to expectations as earnings reports begin to trickle in.
Industry bellwether Tencent Holdings Ltd fell more than 1 percent after the tech giant reported quarterly profits of 10.53 billion yuan ($1.53 billion) on Wednesday, below the average estimate in a Reuters poll.
Heavyweight China Mobile Ltd slid the most in six months, down 3.5 percent, after the largest telecommunications network operator in China reported a mere 0.2 percent rise in profit for last year. But shares of AAC Technologies Holding Inc jumped about 10 percent on news that the miniature technology components maker posted a 30 percent increase in net profit for 2016, compared with the previous year.