Hong Kong Stocks Snap Six-Day Win on US Tariff Threats, US AI Push

MT Newswires Live01-22

Hong Kong stocks snapped their six-day winning streak on Wednesday after news emerged that the US will maintain a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports starting in February.

The Hang Seng Index fell 1.63%, or 327.78 points, to close at 19,778.77 on Wednesday. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 1.96%, or 143.74 points, to end at 7,177.14.

US President Donald Trump's tariff threat follows allegations that China is sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada.

Meanwhile, tech stocks took a particular hit following an announcement by the US of a major private-sector artificial intelligence venture, Stargate.

This initiative, launched by OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle with an initial investment of $100 billion, aims to establish data centers and potentially reach $500 billion in funding over the next four years. This move is seen as a direct challenge to China's AI ambitions.

At home, Hong Kong reported that overall consumer prices rose by 1.4% year on year in December 2024, unchanged from the pace of growth the previous month.

Excluding the city's relief measures, the underlying inflation rate was 1.3% during the reporting month, marginally larger compared with 1.2% in November 2024.

In market news, JD.com (HKG:9618) closed over 4% lower on Wednesday, Meituan (HKG:3690) ended nearly 4% lower with Alibaba Group (HKG:9988) finished over 3% lower, and Tencent (HKG:0700) fell over 1% on Wednesday's close.

In corporate news, Zengame Technology (HKG:2660) expects a year-over-year decline of around 35% to 45% in attributable profit for the year 2024. Shares of the company fell nearly 13%.

Elsewhere, Summi (HKG:0756) received a winding-up petition filed on Jan. 10 in the Hong Kong High Court related to the overdue payment of a $12.6 million principal amount along with accrued interest of a master facility deed dated Oct. 23, 2020, plummeting the company's shares over 9% on Wednesday's close.

Holders of 10 bonds issued by Sunac China's (HKG:1918) unit Sunac Real Estate have approved its debt restructuring plan, allowing it to reduce its onshore debt. Shares of the company closed over 4% lower on Wednesday.

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