Hong Kong stocks sink as Ukraine war damages nuclear plant while Bilibili plunges 13 per cent on widening losses

Benchmark index fell for a third week, the longest losing streak since December, as war in Ukraine escalated with a hit on nuclear power plant

Leading trio of Alibaba, Tencent and Meituan tumbled by 3.7 per cent to 5.4 per cent as tech benchmark lost more than 4 per cent; Bilibili plunges 13 per cent

Reading Time:2 minutes

The Russia-Ukraine war threatens roil markets as a nuclear plant suffers damages. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 10:16am, 4 Mar 2022Updated: 12:52pm, 9 Mar 2022

Hong Kong stocks tumbled, capping a third week of decline, after an escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war caused damages to Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant. Haven trades strengthened.

The Hang Seng Index slumped 2.5 per cent to 21,905.29 at the close of Friday trading, taking the five-day drop to 3.8 per cent. The three-week retreat is the longest streak since December. The Tech Index sank 4.4 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1 per cent.

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing and AAC Technologies were among 12 index members to post new 52-week lows, according to Bloomberg data. Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent Holdings and Meituan lost by 3.7 per cent to 5.4 per cent. Concerns about Beijing tightening its grip on the industry added to the poor sentiment.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slumped by as much as 3 per cent. Flight to safety continued, keeping gold futures at a one-year high. Crude oil futures traded near US$111 a barrel after surging past US$100 last month for the first time since 2014.

“Given the intensified geopolitical tensions and jitters about a fresh round of regulatory scrutiny of the tech sector, the pressure on Hong Kong stocks remains,” said Hayman Chiu, an analyst at Cinda International in Hong Kong. The city’s stocks could test new lows, he added.

The Hang Seng Index has fallen 6.4 per cent this year in what could be the worst quarterly start to a year since 2020. More than US$132 billion has been erased from Asia’s third-largest market this year, making it among the world’s cheapest.