The Hang Seng Index rose 0.2 percent to 17,437.56 at 11:20 a.m. local time, after gaining as much as 0.8 percent earlier in the session. The Tech Index rose 0.5 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index was almost unchanged.
JD.com rose 1.2 percent to HK$103.60, recouping some of Wednesday’s losses caused by Walmart’s plan to sell its equity stake. Tencent rose 0.1 percent to HK$372 and Baidu rose 1.4 percent to HK$86.20.
WuXi Biologics lost just 7.6 percent to HK$10.50 after first-half profit plunged 24 percent to 1.8 billion yuan. Sister company WuXi Apptech lost 2.5 percent to HK$31.20. Mainland developer Longfor lost 4.9 percent to HK$8.57 and China Resources Land lost 2 percent to HK$21.55 after struggling rival Kaisa said first-half losses had deepened amid an ongoing property crisis.
“Local market momentum could be somewhat subdued this week if fundamentals do not change significantly, while volatility is likely to continue during the earnings season,” said Kenny Ng, strategist at Everbright Securities International. Low trading volumes could further dampen market momentum, he added.
Other major Asian markets showed mixed results on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.6 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3 percent. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.3 percent.
