Staff reporter and Bloomberg
Shares of Prudential (2378) rose after the British insurer became the first Hong Kong-listed foreign firm to be included in the Stock Connect scheme while blue chip entrant China Shenhua Energy (1088) jumped nearly 4 percent yesterday.
Auto and tech shares however were dragged down by reports that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway had further trimmed its stake in BYD (1211), as well as US-China tensions.
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange yesterday added 20 stocks including Prudential and Hong Kong Aerospace Technology (1725) to southbound trading in the Connect that links Shenzhen with Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Aerospace Technology soared 75 percent after the announcement, while Prudential edged up 0.3 percent after once rising 2.7 percent.
Analysts expect Canadian insurer Manulife (0945) is likely to be added in the future.
This came after the China Securities Regulatory Commission said last Friday that China will support more Hong Kong-listed overseas companies to be included in the Stock Connect with the mainland.
Overall, the Hang Seng Index closed 226 points lower yesterday, with most blue chips falling. However, the new entrant Shenhua gained 3.8 percent, the best performer among blue chips.
Tencent (0700) lost 2.9 percent while Alibaba (9988) dropped 2.4 percent.
BYD slumped 5.9 percent after Berkshire Hathaway further trimmed its stake in the company, while other auto shares including Geely (0175) and Li Auto (2015) also declined amid weaker sentiment.
The selloff extended BYD losses to almost 30 percent since a BYD stake that matched Berkshire's stake appeared in Hong Kong's clearing and settlement system in July.
Berkshire's waning interest in the stock, coupled with the prospect of the firm's eventual exit, has outweighed news that BYD is now the world's second-biggest electric-car battery supplier.
The Chinese car and battery maker supplied 6.4 gigawatt-hours of batteries in July, behind only giant Contemporary Amperex Technology with 13.3 GWh.
The HSI ended 226 points lower. Sing Tao
