Hong Kong banks slump after Morgan Stanley downgrades outlook

Riot police officers fire rubber bullets toward anti-government protesters during a demonstration in the Tseung Kwan O residential area in Kowloon, Hong Kong, China, October 7, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

HONG KONG: Hong Kong banks declined after Morgan Stanley cut the sector’s outlook, saying the stocks will underperform as a slowing economy and falling rates hurt profitability.

Bank of East Asia Ltd. slumped 3.5% as of the noon-time break, while Hang Seng Bank Ltd. lost 3.4%. The MSCI Hong Kong Index dropped 1.3% after briefly dipping below the 14,000 point level for the first time since January.

Morgan Stanley reduced its recommendation on the industry to cautious from in-line. It cut Hang Seng Bank and HSBC Holdings Plc to underweight.

"We would continue to avoid the segment," analysts including Anil Agarwal wrote in a note. "The economy is slowing fairly quickly in Hong Kong, with almost all key indicators meaningfully down year on year. This will pressure earnings in the second half and beyond.”

Falling local interest rates will further cloud the outlook, the brokerage said.

While banks are trading below long-term averages, they may continue to derate, similar to what’s happened in other markets including China and South Korea, according to Morgan Stanley. Local lenders may also face competition in the future from virtual banks, it said.

Standard Chartered Plc slid 2% in Hong Kong, while HSBC dipped 0.5%.

The MSCI Hong Kong has plunged 18% since its April peak as protests increasingly paralyze the city. The tourism industry has been hammered, while the economy is heading toward a recession. Retail sales fell by a record 23% in August from a year earlier. - Bloomberg