HSBC pre-tax annual profit jumps 78%, misses market estimates
HSBC reported on Wednesday its full year 2023 pre-tax profit climbed about 78% to $30.3 billion from a year ago, missing median estimates of $34.06 billion from analysts tracked by LSEG.
Its Hong Kong shares went into the midday trading break up about 1%, compared with 3% gains for the Hang Seng Index. The bank’s shares have gained about 0.5% so far this year after jumping 23% in 2023 as the Hang Seng Index shed 14%.
—Clement Tan
Hang Seng Index jumps 2%, lifted by pharmaceuticals, tech and property
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was 2.36% higher in morning trade, lifted by a mix of health care, basic materials and technology stocks.
Leading the index’s gains are pharmaceutical companies WuXi AppTec, which jumped 6.85%, and WuXi Biologics, which climbed 5.92%.
Manufacturing company Techtronic Industries rose 4.63%, while property firm Longfor Properties gained 5%.
Other index heavyweights are in the green. Meituan is up 5.72%, while Ping An and Hong Kong listed JD.com rose 3.41% and 3.22%, respectively.
The Hang Seng tech index, which tracks the 30 largest technology companies listed in Hong Kong, is up 3.12%.
—Lee Ying Shan
Australia’s annual wages rise at fastest pace in 15 years
Australia’s annual pay growth inched up to 4.2%, marking the fastest annual pace in 15 years, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Wage Price Index.
On a quarterly basis, Australian wages jumped 0.9% in 2023’s December quarter, largely driven by the education and training sector, as well as the healthcare and social assistance industry, government data showed. The figure matched expectations of analysts polled by Reuters.
“This quarter saw a significantly higher contribution to growth from the public sector,” the report stated.
—Lee Ying Shan
Japan’s exports in January rise 11.9% year on year
Japan’s exports rose 11.9% in January year on year, according to official data.
The reading beat Reuters’ estimates of a 9.5% rise….
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