Alibaba, Nio Shed Over 3%: Why Hong Kong Shares Are Sliding Today

KEY POINTS

• Shares of Alibaba fell over 3% while Xpeng and Li Auto shares shed over 5%.
• Benchmark Hang Seng fell over 2% in morning trade.
• China is witnessing a rebound in Covid-19 cases after the week-long National Day holiday.

Hong Kong stocks opened in the red on Monday after major Wall Street indices closed over 2% lower on Friday, following upbeat jobs data that could potentially pave the path for the U.S. Federal Reserve to continue on its aggressive rate hike path.

ANZ Research said in a note that while the unemployment drop was partially driven by a small fall in the labor force participation rate (to 62.3% from 62.4%), it was still a very solid report. “The data are a headache for the Fed, who have already delivered three consecutive 75bp rate hikes as it acts to get ahead of the surge in underlying inflation pressures,” it said.

The benchmark Hang Seng fell over 2% in morning trade. Shares of Alibaba fell over 3%, while Xpeng and Li Auto shares shed over 6%.

Macro News: New home sales by floor area dropped 37.7% year-on-year over the week-long National Day holiday in China according to a private survey, as tough pandemic restrictions further hit fragile demand,reported Reuters.

Company News: EV-maker Tesla Inc sold 83,135 China-made vehicles wholesale in September, breaking its monthly sales record in China,reportedReuters, citing the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Food delivery giant Meituan is considering an expansion into Hong Kong and international markets as domestic growth slows,reported Bloomberg.

Top Gainers and Losers: Li Ning Company Ltd and Meituan are the top losers among Hang Seng constituents having shed over 6% and 5% respectively. WuXi Biologics (Cayman) Inc. and CNOOC Limited were the only gainers having risen over 4% and 0.17% respectively.

Global News: U.S. futures traded lower on Monday morning Asia session. Dow Jones futures were down 0.35% while Nasdaq futures lost 0.39%. The S&P 500 futures were down 0.36%.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s ASX 200 was down 1.5%. China’s Shanghai Composite index was up 0.05%. Japanese and South Korean markets remained closed on Monday.