Hong Kong stocks see sharpest drop in a month amid Shanghai, Macau Covid-19 flare-ups, fines on Alibaba, Tencent, Bilibili
- With key economic data due this week, new Covid-19 cases in Shanghai and Macau stoked fears that new restrictions could dampen growth
- Tech giants slipped after China’s antitrust watchdog fined Alibaba, Tencent and Bilibili for failing to comply with anti-monopoly rules
The Hang Seng Index retreated 2.8 per cent to 21,124.20 at the close of Monday trading, its biggest drop since June 13, adding to last week’s 0.6 per cent decline. The Tech Index fell 3.9 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.3 per cent.
Galaxy Entertainment lost 4.9 per cent to HK$45.30 and Sands China fell 8.2 per cent to HK$17.14. Tencent Holdings sank 2.9 per cent to HK$342.40 while JD.com tumbled 4.4 per cent to HK$235. Alibaba Group Holding, the owner of this newspaper, weakened 5.8 per cent to HK$114.
Shanghai reported its first Covid-19 cases from a new Omicron subvariant, health officials said on Sunday, triggering new rounds of mass testing and targeted lockdowns.
“China is still a long way from a genuine recovery,” said Sean Darby, global equity strategist at Jefferies, in a note published on Monday. “In contrast to the rest of the world, the Chinese consumer is not rebelling against the high cost of living but the inconvenience of the social restrictions and testing when Covid infections burst.”