Hong Kong & China Equities Lower, HSI Below 17,000, Property Falls

Hong Kong and China equity markets are lower today with tech names leading the decline, while Asian EV makers dip after Ford’s move to slash prices on its electric pickup truck sparked a selloff in shares of US startups, Chinese property developers extend declines, led by Shimao Group and China Vanke, as prolonged weakness in home sales, cash crunch and a lack of progress in restructuring sour investors’ sentiment, while the surge in Gold recently has helped Chinese Gold producers.

• Hong Kong equities are lower today, the HSTech Index has been range bound recently trading between 3,400 and 3,600 the index is down 1.08% for the day, the Mainland Property Index is down 3.05% while the wider HSI is down 1.73% and is now on track to close the week below 17,000 which would send a negative signal across local stocks. In China, equity markets are faring slightly better with the CSI300 off 0.28%, the CSI1000 is down 0.33% and the ChiNext is down 0.67%.
• China Northbound saw 2b of inflows on Thursday, with the 5-day average at -1.27billion, while the 20-day average sits at 1.12billion yuan.
• In the property space, many Chinese cities have recently implemented targeted easing measures in their housing markets, with 15 cities removing the lower limit for mortgage rates on first-home purchases, including Guangzhou, and four cities relaxing housing provident fund policies.
• (Bloomberg) Chinese Developers Fall as Liquidity Concerns Weigh Sentiment (See link)
• China is reducing its copper smelting output due to declining margins amidst a surge in global prices, with treatment and refining charges collapsing to near zero levels. Approximately 8.5% of the country's smelters were inactive in the first quarter, up from 4.1% a year earlier, as ore supply shortages and increased domestic capacity intensify competition. The situation poses production challenges for smelters aiming to protect their margins amid insufficient ore supplies caused by output reductions at major global producers like First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Anglo American Plc.
• Apple is gearing up to revamp its entire Mac lineup with a new family of in-house processors, the M4 chips, designed to showcase artificial intelligence capabilities. The company aims to address sluggish computer sales by integrating AI features into its products, with plans to release updated computers starting late this year. This shift to in-house chips continues Apple's long-running initiative, known as Apple Silicon, aimed at unifying hardware and software while reducing reliance on processors made by Intel. The move is likely to impact Intel, as Apple shifts away from its processors, potentially affecting the broader semiconductor industry landscape.
• Looking ahead, China Trade Balance data is expected at 5pm AEST