Alibaba, JD, Tech Peers Fall: Hang Seng Opens Lower On Weak Wall Street Cues As Recession Fears Grow

Hong Kong stocks opened weaker on Friday, with the benchmark Hang Seng losing 1% on overnight cues from Wall Street. Fears over recession gained momentum after U.S. November retail sales recorded their steepest drop in close to a year, suggesting consumers are reining in spending around the holidays.

Shares of Alibaba traded nearly 1% lower, while Meituan, Baidu and Xpeng stocks fell about 2%.

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Macro News: China hastened to vaccinate its most vulnerable people on Thursday expecting waves of COVID-19 infections, following its easing of strict restrictions that had so far kept the pandemic at bay for three years, reported Reuters.

U.S. regulator Public Company Accounting Oversight Board said on Thursday it was able to inspect the audit firms that serviced mainland Chinese companies listed in the United States, allaying concerns over the potential de-listing of over 170 firms, reported the South China Morning Post.

Company News: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday she is yet to decide whether the House of Representatives will join the Senate in backing legislation to restrict federal government employees from using TikTok on government-owned devices, reported Reuters.

Foxconn Technology Co Ltd FXCOF is easing most anti-Covid restrictions at its factory in Zhengzhou, China, reported Bloomberg.

Top Gainers and Losers: Alibaba Health Information Technology Limited and Techtronic Industries Company Limited are among the top losers among Hang Seng constituents, having lost over 3.5% each. WuXi Biologics (Cayman) Inc. and Lenovo Group Limited are the top gainers, having risen over 2% each.

Global News: U.S. futures traded in the green on Friday morning Asia session. The Dow Jones futures gained 0.02% while the Nasdaq futures rose 0.03%. The S&P 500 futures were trading higher by 0.01%.

Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, Australia’s ASX 200 was trading lower by 0.36%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 1.63% lower while China’s Shanghai Composite index lost 0.37%. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.4%.

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