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Hong Kong stocks surrender gains as sell-off in Alibaba, JD.com and tech peers drags market to 13-month low

  • China will use monetary tools to ‘provide strong support’ for the economy, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on late Monday, citing a central bank official
  • Three companies started trading in Hong Kong for the first time after their stock offerings, with two of them suffering steep losses

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A pedestrian looks at the electronic screen displaying the Hang Seng Index and stock prices in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. Photo: Winson Wong
Jiaxing Li
Hong Kong stocks dropped for a sixth day as Beijing’s pledge to support the economy failed to stem a slide in top Chinese tech companies. Three companies started trading for the first time, with two of them suffering steep losses.
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The Hang Seng Index fell 0.2 per cent to 16,190.02 on Tuesday to a 13-month low, surrendering a 1.2 per cent rally. The six-day slide is the longest since early September. The Tech Index slipped 0.9 per cent to also trade at the lowest level since November 2022. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.2 per cent.

Alibaba Group weakened 0.9 per cent to HK$69.75 and e-c0mmerce peer JD.com slipped 3.2 per cent to HK$98, after its US-listed unit Dada Nexus detected “suspicious practices” on revenue and cost overstatement. Tencent lost 1.5 per cent to HK$283.60 and Meituan slumped 4.6 per cent to HK$70.55.

Limiting losses, HSBC jumped 1.3 per cent to HK$63.45, EV maker BYD added 1.4 per cent to HK$207.60, while online travel services group Trip.com advanced 2.3 per cent to HK$296.40.

Stocks booked early gains after the People’s Bank of China hinted at more policy support to shore up the nation’s faltering economic growth. The central bank said it will use tools such as medium-term lending facilities and reserve requirements to fuel credit growth, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on late Monday, citing Zou Lan, director of the monetary policy department.
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“Beijing has continued to introduce policy stimulus measures due to an increasing likelihood of another growth dip,” analysts at Nomura said in a note on Monday. The central bank “is quite likely to cut its benchmark lending rates” next week, they added.

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