Business

Hong Kong stocks halt 5-day slide as China’s retail sales rise by most in 8 months

Retail sales growth of 4.8 per cent in October raises hopes that stimulus measures could be arresting a slowdown in economic growth.

The Hang Seng Index climbed 0.5 per cent to 19,538.48 as of 10.

07am local time, paring the loss for the week to 5.7 per cent. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 1.

2 per cent. The CSI 300 Index slipped 0.1 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.

2 per cent. Online game operator NetEase surged 12 per cent to HK$134.20 after reporting profits that exceeded analysts’ estimates.

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding added 0.6 per cent to HK$88.55 before its earnings release later on Friday.

Retail sales, a key indicator of consumption, increased by 4.8 per cent year on year last month, the fastest pace since February, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday. That beat the consensus estimate of 3.

8 per cent growth by economists tracked by Bloomberg..