HSI edges up but auto and chip stocks decline

Hong Kong stocks edged higher yesterday but auto and chip stocks which had been on a rising trend retreated.

BYD (1211), which had risen almost 30 percent so far this year, fell 4.28 percent to HK$263.60 as SAIC Motor denied rumors that company will acquire its passenger car business and said independent new energy brands are the trend.

BYD will launch presales of its new Dolphin car on August 13. It is the first model to adopt the "marine aesthetics" design concept, and it is also the first model in BYD's e-platform 3.0.

Geely Auto (0175) fell 0.92 percent as the carmaker said it has partnered with Renault Group to focus on the development of hybrid vehicles in the core fast-growing markets like China and Korea.

However, car component manufacturer Nexteer (1316), jumped almost 20 percent after President Joe Biden is setting a goal for half of all new US vehicle sales to be electric by 2030 while also tightening pollution standards for cars.

Foshan Bureau of Commerce planned to reward auto sales companies for expanding the scale of auto sales, with a maximum reward of 1 million yuan and subsidies to consumers to purchase new energy vehicles, with a maximum subsidy of 20,000 yuan.

Meanwhile, chip stocks slumped after a state-owned media published an article saying that lack of chips should not a reason for chip speculation, with SMIC falling 4.97 percent to HK$26.75.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed 104 points higher at 26,283.4 yesterday.