JD.com, Meituan, Alibaba drag Hang Seng Index to near two-month low on fears of worsening China slowdown
- Hang Seng Index falls 1.8 per cent at the close of trading, its lowest level since March 15
- Tech giant JD.com leads decliners with a drop of 8.2 per cent
Hong Kong stocks fell to a near two-month low amid signs of a worsening outlook for China’s economy, prompting global funds to abandon their bullish calls on Chinese assets.
The Hang Seng Index sank 1.8 per cent to 19,633.69 at the noon trading break, its lowest point since March 15 after the market reopened following a long weekend. The Tech Index plunged 3.2 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 1.1 per cent.
JD.com led the losses, sinking 8.2 per cent to HK$208, while Meituan fell 3.3 per cent to HK$151.80. Alibaba Group Holding, the owner of this newspaper, lost 4.8 per cent to HK$86. BYD tumbled 6 per cent to HK$215, while Sands China declined 6.9 per cent to HK$15.36.
“The biggest concern now is China’s economic activity,” said Andy Wong, fund manager and founding partner at LW Asset Management. “[Markets] have yet to fully price in the economic situation at this moment. This is a risk we can’t quantify because it depends on the news or the [Covid-19] cases on the mainland.”
BlackRock ditched its bullish call on Chinese assets on Monday, downgrading the nation’s stocks and bonds to “neutral” from “modest overweight”, noting that policymakers have yet to fully act on preventing the growth slowdown they have heralded.