Hong Kong markets continued selling off on Tuesday, extending losses from Monday. The broader Asia-Pacific markets, meanwhile, were mixed.
The broader Hang Seng index in Hong Kong briefly fell more than 5% in Tuesday afternoon trade before paring some of those gains, eventually closing 4.22% lower at 25,086.43.
The index has fallen more than 8% in just two days as regulatory fears surrounding China’s technology and private education sector weighed on investor sentiment. On Monday, it fell more than 4%.
Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese tech giant Tencent fell 8.98% while Alibaba dropped 6.35% and Meituan declined 17.66%. The Hang Seng Tech index slipped 7.97% on the day to 6,249.65.
China’s antitrust regulator announced Monday a set of guidelines for food delivery platforms that included paying delivery personnel at least the local minimum wage — a move that could hurt the profits of firms such as Meituan and Alibaba’s Ele.me.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.24% on the day to 3,232.53.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.5% to close at 7,431.40.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.98%.
· Nikkei closes below 28,000 level for second day despite Wall Street boost
Japanese equities rose on Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street as investors cheered upbeat corporate earnings, but the benchmark Nikkei 225 failed to close above the 28,000 key psychological level for a second straight session.
Like Monday, the Nikkei briefly traded above that level but pared gains before the close amid caution ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting and a pick-up in both the U.S. and Japanese earnings seasons.
The Nikkei share average finished the day 0.49% higher at 27,970.22. It hasn’t closed above 28,000 since July 16.
The broader Topix climbed 0.64% to 1,938.04.
· China shares plunge to 8-month low on regulatory woes
Chinese A-shares and Hong Kong’s benchmark index extended heavy losses to hit multi-month closing lows on Tuesday, as investors worried over the impact of tighter government regulations, while a surge in COVID-19 cases dealt a further blow to sentiment.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 index ended down 3.53% at its lowest close since November, extending Monday’s 3.2% selloff. Losses spanned the financial, consumer staples and real estate sectors.
The Shanghai Composite index gave up early gains to end 2.49% lower at 3,381.18, its lowest close since March 25.
Falls were wide-ranging, with the CSI financial sector sub-index down 3.17%, the consumer staples sector off 4.75% and the healthcare sub-index down 3.9%.
· European markets retreat as investors watch earnings; Reckitt Benckiser down 9%
European markets fell on Tuesday as investors continued to monitor corporate earnings, along with extreme weather and the spread of Covid-19 across the continent.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.7% in early trade, with autos shedding 1.3% to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses slid into negative territory.
· FTSE 100 drops as Reckitt Benckiser, mining stocks drag
London’s FTSE 100 fell on Tuesday, led by insurance and mining stocks, while Lysol maker Reckitt Benckiser was the top drag on missing analysts’ quarterly sales estimates.
Reckitt dropped 7.6% to its lowest since March 2020 after it missed analysts’ estimates for second-quarter sales, as demand eased.
The FTSE 100 dropped 1% with life insurers and base metal miners being among the top losers, both down nearly 1.5%.
Miner Rio Tinto was the second-biggest loser on the blue-chip index, down 2.3%, after it said late on Monday that it planned to cut production at its aluminium smelter in Canada due to union strikes.
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