Hong Kong shares fall as regulatory clampdown hits tech firms

Reuters2021-07-19
  • Hang Seng index ends down 1.84%.
  • China Enterprises index HSCE falls 1.91%.
  • Tech shares slump on regulatory clampdown.
  • Evergrande plummets as adverse court ruling comes to light.

July 19 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index fell on Monday as fresh investor concerns over a regulatory clampdown hobbled shares of China's tech giants, and as global concerns over inflation and a surge in coronavirus cases hit investor sentiment.

At the close of trade, the Hang Seng index was down 514.90 points, or 1.84%, at 27,489.78. The Hang Seng China Enterprises index fell 1.91% to 9,958.56.

The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares dipped 1.1%, while the IT sector dropped 3.08%, the financial sector ended 1.69% lower and the property sector declined 1.17%.

Shares in Hong Kong-listed Chinese tech giants were battered after a Shanghai court on the weekend posted a list of "typical unfair competition cases" involving companies including Tencent, Baidu, and Alibaba's Alipay on its official WeChat account.

Tencent Holdings Ltd slipped 2.57%, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd dropped 3.25% and Baidu Inc slumped 3.79%. Meituan was the biggest loser on the Hang Seng, falling 5.02%.

China Evergrande Group shares posted their biggest daily drop since Oct. 14, 2020, falling 16.2% after an adverse court ruling earlier this month came to light.

Evergrande said it is planning to sue a unit of China Guangfa Bank after the lender had a loan to its project company frozen.

China's main Shanghai Composite index closed down 0.01% at 3,539.12 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended up 0.37%.

Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 1.39%, while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 1.25%.

The yuan was quoted at 6.4825 per U.S. dollar at 0813 GMT, 0.06% weaker than the previous close of 6.4786.

(Reporting by Andrew Galbraith; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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Comments

  • GrowGrowGrow
    2021-07-19
    GrowGrowGrow
    Grow Grow Grow 
  • Muffingal
    2021-07-19
    Muffingal
    Clampdown again 
  • Winyss10
    2021-07-19
    Winyss10
    why ?
  • CKWong0572
    2021-07-19
    CKWong0572
    Pls fall more
    • MrTig3r
      Yes, I hope it crash 50%! So that we can buy more [爱你]
  • AmosGohzz
    2021-07-19
    AmosGohzz
    Why????
    • MrTig3r
      fall and buy more lah.. now everything so high.. very sian
  • S071
    2021-07-19
    S071
    Comments
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