Hong Kong stocks start week on downbeat note as lack of meaningful government support measures and geopolitical risks weigh

Hong Kong stocks start week on downbeat note as lack of meaningful government support measures and geopolitical risks weigh

05 Feb Hong Kong stocks start week on downbeat note as lack of meaningful government support measures and geopolitical risks weigh

Posted at 02:49h in Asia by

Hong Kong stocks fell at the open on Monday, extending last week’s losses, as the lack of supportive government measures and potential geopolitical risks dented risk appetite.

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.7 per cent to 15.425.86 as of 10.11am local time. The benchmark lost 2.6 per cent last week. The Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 1 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index retreated 1.9 per cent, in early trade on Monday.

Chinese property developer Longfor Group sank 5.1 per cent to HK$8.26 and peer China Overseas Land and Development retreated 3.4 per cent to HK$11.36. Alibaba Group dropped 0.6 per cent to HK$70.30 and rival JD.com shed 0.4 per cent to HK$85.65. Tencent lost 0.9 per cent to HK$276.80.

While the China Securities Regulatory Commission pledged to rein in wild fluctuations in the stock market by ramping up crackdown on market manipulation, vicious short selling, insider trading and fraudulent listings, the watchdog did not provide details as to how it intends to revive investor confidence and shore up stocks.

Meanwhile, the geopolitical risks are also dampening the mood as former US President Donald Trump said that if elected, he might levy tariffs of more than 60 per cent on Chinese goods.

China’s star fund manager Wang Yawei has relinquished daily management at the investment firm he founded, because of personal reasons. It is being speculated that Wang’s departure is possibly linked with the nation’s widening anti-corruption campaign in the financial sector.

An almost 9 per cent decline has made the Hang Seng Index the worst-performing benchmark globally this year. A lack of forceful stimulus at home and suggestions that the US Federal Reserve is not cutting interest rates soon have put traders on edge. China’s manufacturing shrank for a fourth month in January, the statistics bureau said last week.

Other major Asian markets were broadly weaker. South Korea’s Kospi retreated 1.5 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 1 per cent but Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.4 per cent.

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