Hong Kong stocks plunge amid Covid wave

On Monday, Hong Kong stocks significantly edged down as investors monitored a Covid wave in the region.

The local health authorities reported 32,430 new Covid-19 cases and 248 deaths yesterday.

The government now tries building capacity to deal with the crisis that has swept through care homes.

Similarly, China battles its own outbreak, with 1,807 new local symptomatic Covid-19 cases on Sunday.

This figure is the highest daily record in about two years.

Accordingly, the city’s benchmark Hang Seng plummeted 3.81% or 782.32 points to the 19,771.47 price level.

Then, the Hang Seng technology index sank 11.36% or 0.50 points to the 3.90 price level. This relentless selloff was at the forefront of losses in Hong Kong and China stocks.

Subsequently, the Golden Dragon Index fell 10.18% or 665.40 points to the $5,870.07 price level.

This popular index tracks more than 90 Chinese companies traded in the United States. The downturn marked its second consecutive day drop last week.

In addition, this tumble followed a series of regulatory uncertainties from Beijing and Washington.

Last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission named companies for potential delisting.

This includes Yum China Holdings, tech firm ACM Research, biotech group BeiGene, Zai Lab, and pharmaceutical company Hutchmed.

These firms are the first among the roughly 270 Chinese firms listed on the New York Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq.

The American regulator explained that the firms mentioned failed to meet its audit requirements.

This gives the SEC power to kick companies off Wall Street.

Nevertheless, Beijing often resisted such scrutiny by requiring businesses to hold their audit papers in mainland China.

Hong Kong Tech stocks slump

The prolonged Ukraine-Russia war also pulled down the movement of Hong Kong tech stocks, making the industry highly vulnerable.

Subsequently, heavyweight e-commerce firm Alibaba slashed 7.82% or 0.91 points to $10.69 per share.

At the same time, gaming titan Tencent declined 4.51% or 2.12 points to $44.86 per share.

Similarly, food delivery giant Meituan sank 11.23% or 1.94 points to $15.35 per share.

Separately, ride-hailing company Didi Global has suspended preparations for its planned Hong Kong listing on Friday.

This decision came after the firm failed to appease Beijing’s regulatory demands.

Moreover, traders also worried about the overture of Beijing toward Russia that could bring a global backlash against Chinese firms.

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