Investors will closely watch for Tencent Holdings’s buyback plan in earnings due Tuesday as the company’s shares rebound. The most valuable Chinese technology company is ramping up buybacks to boost shareholder returns amid weak earnings and economic uncertainties. The tech bellwether is expected to report the slowest revenue growth in more than a year in the first quarter, according to analysts’ estimates.
Any change in its commitment to boost shareholder returns will have implications for the broader China market. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which green-lit another $25 billion in stock repurchases in February, will also publish results Tuesday, followed by JD.com Inc and Baidu Inc later this week. These four firms alone represent more than a quarter of the MSCI China gauge.