The Hong Kong stock index compiler decided not to adjust the city’s leading index after its quarterly review and left the number of members unchanged for the second time this year. The technology index and another index that tracks the largest Chinese companies were adjusted.
The number of stocks in the Hang Seng Index will remain at 82, the Hang Seng Indexes Company said in a statement on Friday. This was a repeat of the decision taken in its February review of the blue-chip components. The company did not give a reason for the decision.
Semiconductor and electronics maker ASMPT benefited from the review after its stock was added to the 30-member Hang Seng Tech Index at the expense of Ping An Healthcare and Technology. The changes will take effect after the close of trading on September 6.
The index creator, a subsidiary of Hang Seng Bank, has sought to increase representation in the Hang Seng Index by eventually expanding the pool to 100 stocks after the biggest shakeup in 2021. Its index family was followed by asset managers managing $65.8 billion at the end of 2023, it said.
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The Hong Kong stock market has lost around 11 percent since its peak in late May. Investors are growing impatient with Beijing’s slow economic stimulus and support measures have not met economists’ expectations.
Meanwhile, investors in Asian courier company J&T Global Express and private tuition group New Oriental Education and Technology were also rewarded as both stocks will be included in the 50-member Hang Seng China Enterprises Index. SenseTime, China’s leading artificial intelligence software company, and JD Logistics will be kicked out of the market at the same time.
The replacement of JD Logistics with J&T was “unexpected” as both companies have similar market capitalizations, but trading in JD Logistics is more than three times more active, said Louis Wong, managing director of Phillip Capital Management in Hong Kong, citing stock market data.
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Shares in J&T Global fell 0.2 percent to HK$6.81 on Friday ahead of the announcement. The stock has fallen 56 percent this year, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index has gained 8.6 percent. New Oriental rose 1.1 percent to HK$54.25, while SenseTime was little changed at HK$1.11. JD Logistics rose 22 percent to HK$9.49.
