US-China tech battle hammers stocks from Shanghai to Hong Kong
- Surveillance companies reported to be under US blacklist consideration lead the declines
- Telecom stocks related to 5G also suffer sell-off after Huawei receives another blow from carriers, chip designer
China and Hong Kong stocks suffered steep losses on Thursday, weighed down by technology shares, as investors feared a new US-China tech war on media reports that Washington was considering blacklisting more Chinese tech firms.
The Shanghai Composite Index declined 1.4 per cent to 2,852.52, barely holding up at the 2,850-point level that some say is a critical level for bulls to defend. The Shenzhen Component Index plunged by 2.6 per cent, and the ChiNext Index was down 2.5 per cent.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index lost 1.6 per cent to 27,267.13, the lowest level in four months.
The decline came after Bloomberg reported that the US was considering blacklisting four other surveillance technology firms in addition to Hikvision Digital, one of the world’s largest surveillance camera makers.
Previously, Chinese telecommunication equipment giant Huawei Technology was placed by the Trump administration on an “Entity List”, which would prevent US companies from doing business with it when it comes into effect in three months.
“Escalation of the [Huawei] dispute could damage tech companies not only in China but globally, including in the US,” analysts Greg Kuhnert and Anton du Plooy at Investec Asset Management wrote in a note published on Thursday.
