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Georgina Lee

Deb Price

Good day, traders -- 
Concern spiked over renewed tension between the US and China over legislation supporting Hong Kong protesters. That weighed on the Hang Seng, which fell. Meanwhile, mainland benchmarks declined as well, dragged down by banks. 
Catch up on the day's action below. 
Please help us improve our blog by taking this quick -- under 2 minutes! -- survey. Your feedback will really help us make the blog better for you!
Also, if you would like the Live Stocks Blog emailed to you each morning, shoot Deb a message at deb.price@scmp.com.
-- Georgina Lee and Deb Price in Hong Kong
Note: Information in this blog is on an "as is" basis and not a solicitation or offer to buy or sell any securities or otherwise; and is not investment/professional advice or services in this regard.  It is subject to our T&C.  SCMP (as defined in T&C) shall not be liable for any loss, damage and costs relating to any investments in securities or otherwise in this connection.
 


Hang Seng falls as Beijing warns Donald Trump about bill supporting Hong Kong protesters, threatening US-China mini trade deal

A police officer with a submachine gun is seen in a clash with protesters on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. The escalating violence is weighing on the Hang Seng. Photo: Winson Wong

Business

Markets

Want Want China drops after big run-up Tuesday
Shanghai Composite Index, CSI benchmark fall, weighed down by banks 


Stocks Blog: "Stocks fell in Hong Kong today on worries about escalating violence in the city and whether the US and China can reach even a partial trade deal," says Kenny Wen, wealth management strategist at Everbright Sun Hung Kai.  
 


Stocks

China stock market

Alibaba

Tencent

Hang Seng Index

Kweichow Moutai

Hong Kong protests

Hong Kong property

Live

Here’s what we are watching this morning:
Overnight markets/ What futures foretell
--The S&P 500 slipped 0.06 per cent, the Nasdaq rose 0.24 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4 per cent.   -- Hong Kong futures are down 0.48 per cent, while A50 futures are down 0.26 per cent
IPO debuts: Shenzhen Qingyi Photomask Ltd (688138 CH) 
Economic data: From China, November one-year and five year loan prime rate
Earnings: Nothing major 
   


Morning guidance 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is likely to underperform any other key gauge tracking China’s onshore and offshore stocks in 2020, as the fallout from the months-long political unrest hits growth and corporate earnings, according to Morgan Stanley.
The benchmark of 50 stocks trading in the city may finish next year at 27,500, analysts led by Jonathan Garner at the US investment bank wrote in their 2020 strategy report for Asia’s emerging markets. That implies a 1.5 per cent gain from its close on Tuesday. In comparison, the year-end targets for the CSI 300 Index of mainland-traded stocks, the MSCI China Index of Chinese companies trading on both onshore and offshore markets and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index will see gains of at least 6 per cent from current levels.
“Key sectors in Hang Seng with sizeable exposure to Hong Kong’s local economy such as financials and properties will also continue to suffer in 2020,” the report said.
Read full story by stocks reporter Zhang Shidong here.   


Hang Seng Index to underperform mainland’s onshore, offshore stocks, Morgan Stanley says

Meitu (1357 HK),  one of China’s selfie-editing apps, has completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in Dajie Net Investment Holdings.
According to the Meitu’s off-trading hours filing, it has satisfied all the conditions for the acquisition of 57.09 per  cent of Dajie, a social networking and job search platform, including the payment of HK$395.5 million (US$50.5 million) by allotment and issue of 85,739,105 consideration shares and the remaining HK$52.5 million in cash. 
The acquisition will allow Meitu, which enhances users’ selfies, to further expand its reach and hold to the young set of technologically-savvy and digital native Chinese. 
On Tuesday, Meitu’s shares closed 3.145 per cent higher to HK$1.64
-- Cheryl Arcibal   


China selfie-editing app Meitu completes steps to acquire controlling stake in Dajie Net

A unit of China Energy Engineering (3996 HK), one of China’s biggest power plant designers and builders, has secured a US$523-million contract with the Southern African country of Lesotho for the construction of a special economic zone project. 
The project, will be helmed by Gezhouba Group International Engineering, a subsidiary of China Gezhouba Group, which is a unit of China Energy Engineering. 
The project is located in Mafeiteng area of Lesotho, which is 80 kilometres from the capital Maseru.
The project comprises a light industrial, agricultural, pharmaceutical processing park with an area of about 60,000 square metres, including processing plants, warehouses, office areas, logistics facilities, ancillary living facilities, water supply and electricity facilities. 
On Tuesday,  shares of China Energy Engineering, based in Beijing and the flagship unit of state-owned Energy China Group (3996 HK), closed unchanged at HK$0.79 apiece. 
-- Cheryl Arcibal


China Energy Engineering unit secures US$523 million contract in southern African country of Lesotho

Tse Sui Luen Jewellery International (417 HK) is in talks with landlords on rent reduction and is looking to expand its online shopping presence to counter a 94 per cent decline in net profit for the first half because of the US-China trade war and ongoing anti-government protests.
The company said net profit for the six months ended September fell to HK$1.57 million (US$200,600) from HK$24.27 million a year earlier, 4 per cent lower than what the company had predicted during its profit warning last month. Revenue declined 13.6 per cent to HK$1.65 billion from HK$1.91 billion, in line with its estimates.
“In August and September, the [turnover] drop was about 45 to 55 per cent [year on year]. And actually, this range has been quite consistent throughout October and even now,” said Annie Tse Yau On-yee, chairwoman of TSL.
“We don’t think the situation will improve,” she said, adding that the hardships faced by the retail industry will be pretty much the same in December and early next year.
Read full story by Snow Xia here. 


Tse Sui Luen Jewellery International looking for ways to counter plunge in net profit amid protests, trade war

The Hang Seng Index slid 0.6 per cent, to 26,936.79.
The CSI 300, which tracks blue chips listed on Shenzhen and Shanghai, dropped 0.2 per cent, to 3,940.13, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2 per cent to 2,928.11.
The Hang Seng has surged 2.9 per cent over the past two days, in part due to the ongoing mega-IPO of Alibaba whose secondary listing in Hong Kong is reportedly receiving enthusiastic response from institutional investors. Alibaba will start trading on the main board on November 26.
HKEX (388 HK), the city’s bourse operator, lost 2.3 per cent, to HK$246, after Spanish newspaper Cinco Dias reported that it is one of the bidders for the Spanish exchange BME, owner of the Madrid stock exchange. This comes after its failed attempt to buy the London Stock Exchange in October.
In China, the National Interbank Funding Centre will announce the November 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates (LPR) for November
Introduced in August to replace the benchmark lending rate, the LPR is the average of the 18 reporting banks’ lending rate to their highest quality borrowers. The rate on the 1-year fixing now stands at 4.2 per cent, after two cuts in August and September, while the five-year is at 4.85 per cent, with no cut so far.
In Shanghai, liquor distiller Kweichow Moutai (600519 CH) slid 0.2 per cent to 1230 yuan; Ping An Insurance (601318 CH) lost 0.4 per cent to 88.58 yuan.
-- Georgina Lee 


Hong Kong and China stocks open lower

Shares of GCL-Poly Energy Holdings (3800 HK) -- one of China’s largest solar panels materials producers -- and its solar farms development subsidiary GCL New Energy Holdings (451 HK) are starting off with different assessments by traders after their plunge Tuesday. 
GCL-Poly Energy rose nearly 2 per cent to 26 HK cents in early morning trading, while GCL New Energy fell 0.9 per cent  to 21 Hong Kong cents.
They tumbled Tuesday after the subsidiary said a preliminary agreement inked in June this year for GCL-Poly to sell a 51 per cent stake of GCL New Energy to China Huaneng Group -- the nation’s largest power producer -- has been terminated. 
Instead, the pair has entered into a preliminary agreement for GCL New Energy’s solar farms to be sold to China Huaneng. 
GCL-Poly owns 62.3 per cent of GCL New Energy. 
Both companies are highly indebted and in need of new capital to retire existing debts. 
Jiangsu province-based GCL-Poly Tuesday closed 5.6 per cent lower at 25.5 HK cents while GCL New Energy closed down 6.4 per cent at 22 HK cents. 
After the market closed, GCL-Poly chairman Zhu Gongshan told a teleconference with investors and analysts that the reason for a change in the proposed transaction with China Huaneng is because a takeover of GCL New Energy by China Huaneng will entail a long approval process by multiple central government departments, while a bulk asset sale by GCL New Energy to China Huaneng will be much simpler and quicker to implement. 
He declined to divulge the number and generation capacity of the solar farms to be sold, as the sale terms are being negotiated. 
The change in transaction format means the deal size will likely be “much smaller than originally planned”, Daiwa Capital Markets’ analysts said in a note on Tuesday. “As the GCL New Energy assets [will] continue to remain on GCL-Poly’s balance sheet ... [the latter] may still face great financial burden from [the debt of] both GCN New Energy and itself,” they wrote.
Zhu also said during the conference that China Huaneng also intends to provide a bridge loan to help GCL-Poly refinance its debt, so that it will not risk defaulting on them when they become mature. The amount and interest rate of the bridge loan is under negotiation. GCL-Poly has some US$600 million of due for repayment mid 2021, he added.
-- Eric Ng    


 GCL-Poly Energy Holdings rises after tumble Tuesday

Shenzhen Wingyi Photomask (688138 CH), which debuted on the science and technology innovation Star board in Shanghai, doubled its share price minutes after market open, to 20.22 yuan, compared to its offer price at 8.78 yuan.
The Shenzhen-based company makes photomask, which is a high precision plate engraved with microcircuit made of a glass plate. It is used in micro-electronic manufacturing such as integrated circuit chips and flat panel display.
-- Georgia Lee 


Shenzhen Wingyi Photomask surges in debut on China’s Star board 

Several stocks extended their gains from previous sessions and hit the 10 per cent up limit again today.
Their surge came amid expectations for more on-demand cloud gaming to emerge from leaders in the cloud computing field, such as Tencent (700 HK) and Alibaba (which lists next Tuesday in Hong Kong), now that 5G has been launched in China. 
Tencent has already launched its cloud gaming solution this year. 
The frenzy was also fuelled this week by Google’s launch on Tuesday of its own cloud gaming service called Stadia.
Investors are betting that cloud gaming, which streams games directly to a user’s handheld device without the need for a console, will open up more opportunities for online game developers.
The 10-percent gainers include Huawei Culture (002502 CH), to 4.21 yuan; Dalian Zeus Entertainment (002354 CH), to 3.05 yuan; Zhejiang Juli Culture Development (002247 CH) to  3.23 yuan; and Kingnet Network (002517 CH), which is available through the Stock Connect, to 3.09 yuan.
-- Georgina Lee    


Mobile game developers’ gains continue in Shenzhen, bucking downtrend of China markets

The National Interbank Funding Centre published the November 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates (LPR). 
The 1-year rate was cut by a small 5 basis points, to 4.15 per cent from 4.2 per cent. It’s the third cut this year, after the 1-year rate was reduced by 11bp in August and September.
The 5-year LPR, a rate often used in mortgage lending in China, was lowered by the same magnitude, 5 bps, to 4.8 per cent from 4.85 per cent in October.
Introduced in August to replace the benchmark lending rate, the LPR is the average of the 18 reporting banks’ lending rate to their highest quality borrowers. It is used to price loans to both individuals and businesses.
The Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.2 per cent at 2,928.76, while the CSI 300 lost 0.2 per cent at 3,938.15.
-- Georgina Lee 


China 1-year and 5-year loan prime rate for November cut

Blame the Hang Seng’s decline in the morning session on profit taking and investors piling their money into orders for Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant whose secondary listing debuts in Hong Kong next Tuesday. (Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.)
“There is some profit taking pressure,” said Kenny Tang Sing-hing, chief executive of Royston Securities.
“And also the Dow Jones retreated from its high level. So I think it is quite reasonable for the Hang Seng to have some profit taking. And now money is locked into the Alibaba IPO, so the buying interest may have slowed down,” he added.
The Hang Seng declined 0.5 per cent to 26,949.04. 
Read about the latest on Alibaba’s stock offering -- the world’s biggest IPO this year -- in this article by Enoch Yiu and Peggy Sito.
-- Deb Price     


Hang Seng weighed down by profit taking, rush in orders for Alibaba stock, says analyst Kenny Tang 

NavInfo (002405 CH) jumped 8.8 per cent to 16.2 yuan after announcing it will provide Huawei with its map test verification service that will be part of Huawei’s self-driving car testing and verification process. 
The jump marked a five-week high for Navinfo, which develops navigation software and digital map software. It also is involved in chip manufacturing and vehicle networking technology.
Navinfo said Tuesday night that it will tailor make map data products and services for Huawei. It did not give any financial details of the collaboration.
-- Georgina Lee    


NavInfo surges to 5-week high on new collaboration with Huawei on autonomous vehicles

Snack maker Want Want China (151 HK) fell 3.7 per cent to HK$6.43, after it soared 4.5 per cent on Tuesday following its announcement of first half profits that beat expectations.
In a new note, Daiwa Capital Markets reiterated its “buy” rating on the stock, while boosting its 12-month target price to HK$7.80 from HK$7.70.
“We see WWC’s valuation as attractive,” Daiwa analysts Anson Chan  and Jonathan Ho wrote, noting the snack maker’s diversification of products beyond the core Want Want and Hot-kid brands. 
It reported that its net profit attributable to shareholders for the six months ended September rose 18.4 per cent to 1.6 billion yuan.
-- Deb Price    


Want Want China falls after soaring Tuesday on profit beat 

Grandshore Technology (1647 HK), whose chairman and executive director Yao Yongjie is a substantial shareholder in bitcoin mining gear maker and listing hopeful Canaan, shot up 8.7 per cent to HK$0.75 -- its highest level in five months.
Beijing-based Canaan, which produces the “Avalon” branded bitcoin miner and is the world’s second-largest maker of bitcoin mining rigs,  is seeking to sell 10 million American depository shares with each priced at between US$9-11, and list them on the Nasdaq Global Market.
Net proceeds from the offering are expected at between US$87.7 million and US$101.7 million, according to its most updated filing to the US securities regulator. Canaan previously let its listing application on the Hong Kong bourse lapse in November 2018.
-- Georgina Lee 


Blockchain investor Grandshore Technology shoots up to 5-month high

Leading jeweller Tse Sui Luen Jewellery International said net profit for six months ended September plunged 94 per cent to HK$1.57 million, as the protests -- which intensified into a university siege and firebomb-filled standoff between radical rioters and police -- “devastate our retail business in Hong Kong”.
Shares of Tse Sui Luen Jewellery (International) have not traded for the whole week, and it is quoted at HK$13.9.
Shares of others jewellers dropped, with Chow Sang Sang (116 HK) down 1 per cent at HK$8.97, while Luk Fook Holdings (590 HK) lost 0.7 per cent to HK$20.65, and Chow Tai Fook (1929 HK) lost 0.6 per cent at HK$6.79.
You can read a full article about Tse Sui Luen Jewellery by Snow Xia here.  


 Shine comes off Hong Kong jewellery retailers as unrelenting protests see no end

China’s reduction by five basis points in the one- and five-year loan primes will do little to significantly boost credit and investment growth, and stocks will continue to endure gloomy earnings growth in the short term, according to JPMorgan Asset Management.
The central bank is expected to add to the cuts in interest rates in a measured pace to further drive down financing costs and promote more private investment, said Zhu Chaoping, a strategist at the money manager in Shanghai, in an e-mailed comment.
China cut the one-year loan prime rate to 4.15 per cent from 4.2 per cent today and that on the five-year rate to 4.80 per cent from 4.85 per cent. China’s loan prime rate is linked to the borrowing costs commercial lenders get from the medium-term lending facility after an overhaul of the mechanism in August.
-- Zhang Shidong


China’s cut in loan prime rates isn’t enough to boost credit and stocks: JPMorgan Asset

Spot gold’s price appears to have stablised from last Friday’s fall, and is now quoted at US$1,474.45 per ounce, up 0.1 per cent. For the month, however, it has declined 2.5 per cent.
The recent retreat in gold comes amid US equities hitting record highs, with the Nasdaq Composite rising by 0.2 per cent overnight to a record 8,570.66. Both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed last Friday at record highs. Analysts said strong equities markets eroded the attraction of gold as safe haven asset.
In China, riding on spot gold’s stablising this week, some gold mining and precious metals rose.
Jinzhou Cihang Group (000587 CH) rose 5.9 per cent to HK$1.8; Eastern Gold Jade (600086 CH) rose 4.6 per cent at 2.76 yuan; Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining (600988 CH) rose 3 per cent to 4.77 yuan; Shandong Humon Smelting (002237 CH) rose 3.2 per cent at 12.29 yuan; and Zhongrun Resources Investment ( CH) rose 2.7 per cent at 2.67 yuan.
-- Georgina Lee    


Gold-mining and precious metals stocks gain in China

The CSI 300 lost 0.5 per cent, to 3,927.68; while the Shanghai Composite Index has lost 0.4 per cent at 2922, with both indexes’ losses widening during the morning session.
In the early afternoon session, banks and insurers are helping push down the indexes, with People’s Insurance Company (Group) of China  (601319 CH) falling 2.9 per cent at 6.96 yuan; China Construction Bank (601939 CH) down 1.1 per cent at 7.11 yuan; Ping An Insurance (601318 CH) down 0.7 per cent to 88.25 yuan; and China Merchants Bank (600036 CH) declining 1.9 per cent to 36.8 yuan.   
-- Georgina Lee 


Banks pushing down China benchmarks

The Hang Seng Index isn’t getting out of its early losses in afternoon trading.
It has declined 0.7 per cent, to 26,905.59. Heavyweight Tencent (700 HK) is flat at HK$336.60. Snack food maker Want Want China (151 HK) reversed previous days gain on strong first half results. It has decline 3.7 per cent to HK$6.43 as biggest percentage loser in the blue chip index.   
-- Georgina Lee


Want Want China is worst percentage performer on Hang Seng Index

Beijing warned it would retaliate if United States President Donald Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act into law, after the US Senate passed the act, which could pave the way for diplomatic action and economic sanctions against the city’s government.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that any attempt by the US to interfere in China’s internal affairs would be in vain, following the passage of the act through an expedited process.
“We call on the US side to take a clear look at the situation and take steps to stop the act from becoming a law, and stop meddling in the internal affairs of China and Hong Kong, to avoid setting a fire that would only burn itself,” Geng said in a statement.
“If the US sticks to its course, China will surely take forceful measures to resolutely oppose it to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interest.”
Read full article by Teddy Ng here.


China ‘will retaliate’ if Trump signs lHong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act into law

The research arm of UBS says in an outlook report released today that it expects Hong Kong retail sales, which already saw the steepest drop in third quarter this year, to continue struggling in 2020 particularly for discretionary spending “given the (Chinese yuan currency) depreciation and the social economic backdrop.”
Given this, it projects a 10-15 per cent drop in the city’s prime retail property rents by end of 2020, it said in the report titled “Investing in Asia Pacific, 2020 outlook” issued by the bank’s chief investment office (CIO), which is the research arm under the bank’s global wealth management.
“Prime rental properties rely on discretionary and luxury spending by shoppers from mainland China, and the sharp drop in luxury retail sales is pressuring this segment,” it said. 
The report comes amid increasingly violent protests, which pushed the city into a recession in the third quarter.
-- Georgina Lee    


UBS CIO forecasts 10-15 per cent drop in Hong Kong prime retail property rents by end of 2020

Hong Kong police are now carrying submachine guns and semi-automatic rifles, as hardcore activists have stepped up their attacks. Meanwhile, Beijing has warned US President Donald Trump not to sign legislation supporting the pro-democracy demonstrators, threatening the partial trade deal that has seemed to be coming together. This comes after Beijing suggested the city’s courts can’t rule on constitutional issues, which could mean the end of “one country, two systems,” legal scholars are warning.
The combination is weighing on sentiment in Hong Kong, says Kenny Wen, wealth management strategist at Everbright Sun Hung Kai.  
“Stocks fell in Hong Kong today on worries about escalating violence in the city and whether the US and China can reach even a partial trade deal,” said Wen.
The Hong Kong court ruling, pro-democracy bill making its way through the Congress and then headed to Trump, and the US-China trade war have been weighing on the Hong Kong stock market since June.
“We think the situation will continue, and these risks will become the biggest uncertainties to Hong Kong stock market in the first quarter of 2020,” Wen said.
The Hang Seng Index has declined 0.8 per cent to 26,888.58. 
On Alibaba’s IPO next Tuesday, Wen said, “We remain bullish to the short term performance of Alibaba after listing in Hong Kong. But we expect there will a mild gain rather than that it will soar in the first listing day.”
-- Deb Price    


Beijing warning to US, escalation of Hong Kong violence weighing on Hang Seng, says analyst Kenny Wen

The threat overnight by US President Donald Trump to raise tariffs against China “even higher” is leading Hong Kong traders to profit take, says Alan Li,  portfolio manager at Atta Capital.
“China is going to have to make a deal that I like. If they don’t, that’s it,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday. “If we don’t make a deal with China, I’ll just raise the tariffs even higher.”
That, Li said, “gave the market an excuse to adjust after nearly a thousand point rebound in a few days. Investors still believe the first phase of trade deal can be made eventually, and Hang Seng may challenge its recent high at 27,900.“
On Alibaba’s coming mega IPO, Li said that once the e-commerce giant finishes the allotment of shares on early orders, “it may help to ease the liquidity. ... Baba may be mildly up or down at its open,” which will be next Tuesday.
-- Deb Price    


Trump threat to China to raise tariffs higher if no trade deal sparks profit taking in Hong Kong, says analyst Alan Li

The yuan is trading at 7.0286 per US dollar, its weakest level in more than two weeks, as the Chinese currency weakened further from this morning central bank’s midpoint fixing. The People’s Bank of China fixed the mid-point rate at 7.0118 per dollar, which is 88 pips weaker than Tuesday’s fixing at 7.0030 per dollar.
Beijing warned it would retaliate if US President Donald Trump signs the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act into law, after the US Senate passed the act overnight. The legislation could pave the way for diplomatic and economic sanctions against the city’s government.
“We call on the US side to take a clear look at the situation and take steps to stop the act from becoming a law, and stop meddling in the internal affairs of China and Hong Kong, to avoid setting a fire that would only burn itself,” Geng Shuang, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement.
The US legislation would require the State Department to certify annually whether Hong Kong remains sufficiently autonomous from Beijing to justify its special trading status.
Elsa Lignos, global head of FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a note today that the bill’s passage by the US Senate has weighed on risk sentiment.
-- Georgina Lee    


Yuan weakens as Beijing threatens Trump on Hong Kong human rights bill

The Shanghai Composite Index snapped a two-day winning streak, closing down 0.8 per cent at 2,911.05. 
The loss in the CSI, which tracks blue chips listed on Shanghai and Shenzhen, was bigger, with it declining 1 per cent at 3,907.86. It also was a break from three days of gains.
Investors’ concerns about interest margin pressure on banks resurfaced, after China’s 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates (LPR) were both cut by a small 5 basis points, to 4.15 per cent from 4.2 per cent, and 4.8 per cent from 4.85 per cent, respectively. It’s the third cut this year for the 1-year rate, but the first for the 5-year rate, which is often used in mortgage lending in China.
“If you look at the leading Chinese developers, most of which are listed in Hong Kong, the rate cuts have lifted their share price. This, combined with the losses seen in A-share listed banks Wednesday, indicate that the market generally is anticipating further lowering of the new benchmark lending rate,” said Alex Wong, a director at Ample Finance Group.
Launched in August, the LPR is the average of the 18 reporting banks’ lending rate to their highest quality borrowers, is linked to the cost of medium-term lending facility. It is used to price loans to both individuals and businesses.
China Construction Bank (601939 CH) fell 1.1 per cent to 7.11 yuan, China Merchants Bank (600036 CH) declined 2.5 per cent to 36.58 yuan, Industrial Bank (601166 CH) lost 3.4 per cent to 19.16 yuan, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (601398 CH) lost 0.9 per cent to 5.8 yuan, and the Agricultural Bank of China (601288 CH) dropped 0.6 per cent to 3.58 yuan.
In Shenzhen, Ping An Bank (000001 CH) also fell 3.4 per cent to 15.85 yuan.
But capping the losses in the Shenzhen Component Index, which dropped 0.8 per cent at 9,809.05, were selective communication technology stocks. NavInfo (002405 CH), which develops navigation software, surged to the 10 per cent upside limit to 16.38 yuan, after it announced it will work with Huawei on its autonomous driving testing.
Wonders Information (300168 CH), a smart city service provider through using internet, clouding computing and big data,  also surged 10 per cent to 17.97 yuan.
-- Georgina Lee    


China stocks end lower, dragged down by banks 

Hang Seng Index closed down 0.8 per cent at 26,889.61, as banks and insurers weighed down the benchmark.
Leading the index down were insurer AIA (1299 HK), which declined 2.1 per cent to HK$77.8; and selective mainland financials, such as Ping An Insurance (2318 HK), which slid 0.5 per cent to HK$91.85, and China Construction Bank (939 HK), which slipped 0.3 per cent to HK$6.4.
But capping the losses in the index were properties stocks.
China Resources Land (1109 HK) rose  0.73 per cent to HK$34.5, while China Overseas Land & Investment (688 HK) climbed 3.8 per cent to HK$26.6.
These Chinese developers benefited from the 5-year loan prime rate, which is the loan benchmark rate often used for pricing mortgage loan, and was cut for the first time this year, to 4.8 per cent from 4.85 per cent.
“The Hang Seng Index is taking a breather as the 1.6 per cent gain on Tuesday was overdone. But the sentiment in Hong Kong has actually slightly improved, as news about US president Donald Trump threatening higher tariffs on Chinese goods if no deal is concluded did not cause a big move in the index today,” said Alex Wong, a director at Ample Finance.
The retail offering of Alibaba’s mega US$13 billion IPO finished at noon today. That reduced some downward pressure for the Hang Seng Index caused by investors who had cashed out of blue chips to buy Alibaba shares, said Wong.
For this week, Wong expects that the Hang Seng Index will hover between the 27,090 to 26,790 level.
-- Georgina Lee    
