Hong Kong Stocks Plunge, NIO Drops Over 6%

On October 21, 2024, the Hong Kong stock market experienced a significant decline. The Hang Seng Index (HSI) fell by 1.57%, the Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH) decreased by 2.37%.

Among the sectors, Silver surged by 12.70%, Housewares & Specialties increased by 9.44%, and Heavy Electrical Equipment rose by 8.90%. These sectors showed strong performance despite the overall market downturn.

NIO-SW fell 6.11%, XPENG-W fell 2.94%, BABA-W fell 2.69%, JD-SW fell 2.46%, LI AUTO-W fell 2.43%, TENCENT fell 2.27%.

CHINASOFT INT'L experienced a significant drop of 4.69%, SENSETIME-W dropped by 4.22%, while GALAXY ENT fell by 3.00%, and ALI HEALTH was down by 2.72%.

Notably, TRAD CHI MED plummeted by 35.08% after its privatization plan fell through, leading to a sharp decline in its stock price.

On the positive side, CHINA OVERSEAS rose by 2.57%, and XINYI SOLAR increased by 3.45%. CGN MINING surged by 7.78%, driven by recent agreements and market conditions favoring uranium prices.

SH ELECTRIC saw a remarkable increase of 30.22% following the announcement of its acquisition of Ning Sheng Industrial, which was well-received by the market, highlighting the active M&A environment and the focus on high-tech sectors.

Other notable movements included CHINA COMM CONS rising by 2.88%, and BLACK SESAME increasing by 6.34%. MINISO also saw a rise of 4.47%.

Optimism over Beijing's slew of stimulus measures first announced late in September has turned into caution in recent days as investors look to further details of more fiscal support from policymakers.

Though China cut its benchmark lending rates on Monday, the move was anticipated. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was lowered by 25 basis points to 3.10% from 3.35%, while the five-year LPR was cut by the same margin to 3.6% from 3.85% previously.

Further details on Chinese stimulus might take some time to emerge.

"We might have to wait until late October or early November for concrete plans from the Standing Committee meeting of the National People's Congress," said Chaoping Zhu, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in Shanghai.