Why Alibaba, JD, Meituan Are Falling In Hong Kong Today

Shares of U.S.-listed Chinese tech giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA, Baidu Inc BIDU, JD.Com JD, and Meituan Dianping MPNGF traded lower in Hong Kong on Wednesday at the press time. 

Stocks of these Chinese tech giants were a mixed bag in U.S. markets on Tuesday.

The Macro Factors: The benchmark Hang Seng Index slid 1.21%, retreating from a two-week high.

Government data showed that Hong Kong’s economy shrank by 4% during the first quarter of 2022, worse than analyst expectations, as businesses were hammered by the fifth wave of COVID-19 and rising infections across the border in mainland China. The contraction is Hong Kong's first since the fourth quarter of 2020.

Investors will also be looking ahead to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision later today. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.1%, while the ASX 200 in Australia gained 0.19% and SGXNifty in Singapore gained 0.20%. 

Company In News: On Tuesday, Alibaba’s stock slid as the state broadcaster reported that the government had placed an individual with the last name Ma under “compulsory curbs” in the city of Hangzhou. Investors, fearing that the person could be Alibaba’s founder, quickly dumped their shares. However, the broadcaster later revised that report to reflect a clarification issued by Hangzhou police, which said the arrested individual’s full name has three characters while Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma has just two. 

Sequoia Capital China’s founder and managing partner, who is also a director of Chinese delivery services giant Meituan, has sold stock in the Hong Kong-listed company to cash in HK$6.23 billion (US$798.72 million), according to a regulatory filing.