The Hang Seng Index rose 0.6 per cent to 25,156.89 at the noon break and was set to end a nearly 2 per cent loss accumulated over the past three days. The Hang Seng Tech Index also advanced 0.6 per cent.
Trading continued to be hot on the mainland’s markets, as the CSI 300 Index climbed 0.6 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.2 per cent. Goldman Sachs raised its 12-month target for the CSI 300 by 8.9 per cent to 4,900, saying that the liquidity-fuelled rally had more room for upside.
Qingdao-based household appliances maker Haier Smart Home jumped 6.6 per cent to HK$26.74 after its first-half profit exceeded analysts’ estimates. Online travel agency Trip.com Group advanced 5.2 per cent to HK$580.50, rising for a second day after a strong earnings report. Post owner Alibaba Group added 0.7 per cent to HK$116.60 and ICBC gained 0.2 per cent to HK$5.80 before their earnings reports later on Friday.
As many as 12 companies from the 85-member Hang Seng Index were due to release their interim reports on Friday, which were expected to provide fresh clues on what sectors have withstood a slowdown in Chinese economic growth and benefited from a government drive to cut overcapacity in an array of green energy industries.
Alibaba, the third-biggest constituent on the Hang Seng Index with a 7.7 per cent weighting, was expected to post a 22 per cent profit increase in the second quarter, while ICBC earnings were tipped to rise 3.2 per cent from a year earlier, according to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
