Hong Kong stocks decline as EU tariffs slam Chinese EVs; Geely, Li Auto main drags
- The European Commission’s additional duties of up to a revised 37.6 per cent on Chinese EVs would initially last for a maximum of four months
The Hang Seng Index fell 1.3 per cent to 17,799.61 on Friday, while the Tech Index weakened 1.5 per cent. The Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.3 per cent and struck a five-month low.
Geely Auto tumbled 3.1 per cent to HK$8.43, and BYD dropped as much as 1.5 per cent before clawing back losses to end flat. The European Union raised tariffs on the two companies by 19.9 and 17.4 per cent respectively, in addition to the 10 per cent duty already in place for all electric cars imported from China.
Li Auto lost 1.9 per cent to HK$79.25, Xpeng tumbled 3 per cent to HK$30.40 and Nio dropped 0.8 per cent to HK$37.30, as additional duties, ranging from 20.8 to 37.6 per cent, came into effect beginning on Friday, which would initially last for a maximum of four months.
“The market was low key hoping the tariffs might be dialled back, but we can clearly see the EU’s stance is still quite harsh,” said Jason Chan, strategist at the Bank of East Asia in Hong Kong. “There’s a chance that other countries, such as Canada, could step up scrutiny as well.”
Friday’s loss has trimmed the Hang Seng Index’s gain in the holiday-shortened week to 0.5 per cent, driven mainly by mainland investors targeting high-yielding stocks. Southbound buying has reached HK$10.9 billion (US$1.4 billion) in the month through Friday, adding to the 12 months of net inflows since July last year, Stock Connect data shows.