Meituan’s 15 per cent crash sends Hong Kong stocks into tailspin on regulatory woes while Covid-19, Ukraine jitters sap risk appetite

Name: Pandemic food delivery boom creating vast amounts of plastic waste in China
Uploaded: 2022-02-18T03:00:32.000Z
Duration: 4 min 13 s
Description: Pandemic food delivery boom creating vast amounts of plastic waste in China

Stocks fell by the most in a month as a sell-off in Meituan reignited state intervention fears, while Covid-19 cases and potential war in Ukraine hit sentiments

Eyes on Hang Seng quarterly index rebalancing after Friday’s market close with SMIC, Nongfu Spring among potential additions

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People walk past a sign showing the Hang Seng Index on February 14 as the fifth wave of infections in the city worsened. Photo: AFP

Zhang Shidong

Published: 11:00am, 18 Feb 2022Updated: 1:40pm, 9 Mar 2022

Hong Kong stocks slumped by the most in a month as Meituan crashed by the most since July following a state order to slashing its fees. Rising Covid-19 infections and geopolitical risks surrounding Ukraine also sapped risk appetite.

The Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.9 per cent to 24,327.71 at the close of Friday trading, bringing the losses this week to 2.3 per cent. The sell-off in Meituan sank the Tech Index 3.2 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.6 per cent.

Meituan, which operates China’s biggest food-delivery platform, tumbled 15 per cent for the biggest slump on the Hang Seng Index. The Chinese government on Friday directed such operators to lower service fees in the regions ravaged by Covid-19, reigniting concerns about regulatory interventions.

Meituan’s woes infected Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings. The stocks fell by at least 1.9 per cent, reversing earlier gains. Separately, the US called out their market platforms for listing counterfeit goods.

Other major decliners included power tools maker Techtronics, Anta sports, WuXi Biologics and Li Ning, each sliding by at least 3.5 per cent.

04:13

Pandemic food delivery boom creating vast amounts of plastic waste in China

Elsewhere, risk aversion heightened following an overnight rout in US equities after the White House ratcheted up warning of Russia’s possible invasion of Ukraine. The US and Russia agreed to meet next week in Europe to stave off the crisis. Gold futures reached the highest since June, while 10-year Treasury yield dipped from near a two-year high.

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