Hong Kong stocks slide on lockdown concerns, Ukraine stand-off while Alibaba weakens on Temasek stake sale
- Stocks weakened with regional markets on city lockdown concerns, Russia-Ukraine stand-off
- China injected US$15.7 billion of liquidity to support businesses and counter a slowdown in economy
The Hang Seng Index slipped 0.8 per cent to 24,355.71 at the close after a measure of volatility reached the highest level in four months. The three-day decline for the benchmark was the longest in a month. The Tech Index dropped 0.2 per cent, erasing an earlier gain.
Oil producers and insurers were the worst performers. PetroChina and Sinopec dropped more than 3 per cent, surrendering some of their rallies on Monday on the back of crude oil rally. China Life Insurance and Ping An Insurance each sank 3.5 per cent.
“Hong Kong’s economy now faces more pressure from the plummeting consumption related sectors,” Natixis analysts wrote in a February 14 note to clients. The government should consider expanding its fiscal stimulus to compensate residents and the affected industries, they added.
The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.5 per cent, as China’s central bank injected 100 billion yuan (US$15.7 billion) of liquidity into the system through the medium-term lending facility to support businesses to arrest an economic slowdown.
Alibaba Group Holding, the owner of this newspaper, lost 0.3 per cent. Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek Holdings pared its ownership in the Chinese e-commerce group last quarter. It bought rivals JD.com and Pinduoduo, according to its 13F filing late Monday.
