Why Alibaba, Nio, Most Chinese Peers Are Falling In Hong Kong Today

Shares of U.S.-listed Chinese firms were mostly trading in the red on Monday morning in Hong Kong. 

Alibaba Group Holding BABA, Baidu Inc BIDU, and Tencent Holdings TCEHY fell between 0.7% to 3.4%, while JD.com Inc JD bucked the trend gaining 1.4%. 

Electric vehicle makers NIO Inc NIO, Li Auto Inc LI, and Xpeng Inc XPEV were also under immense pressure.

Shares of these Chinese companies ended significantly lower in U.S. markets on Friday.

Global Markets Recap: At press time, the benchmark Hang Seng Index shed nearly 1.37%. 

Elsewhere, Australia's ASX 200 was trading flat, Japan's Nikkei 225 was 0.50% higher after paring some gains, while Shanghai's SSE Composite Index lost 0.43%.

Macro Factors: Beijing stoked concerns about more COVID-19 lockdowns. According to Global Times reports, Chinese authorities have imposed a lockdown in the Haidian district and in Chaoyang, Fengtai, Shunyi, and Fangshan districts.

Strict lockdowns have resulted in a slowdown in the tech stocks, a major part of Hang Seng. Alibaba, Xpeng, and Meituan MPNGY are due to post earnings this week. 

Company In News: Big tech firms, including Tencent and Alibaba, are still slashing jobs and laying off employees as regulatory pressure and lockdowns battered their business, according to SCMP.

Truist analyst Youssef Squali believes the slowdown in online sales will affect Alibaba. He maintained a "buy" rating on the stock but slashed its price target from $180 to $132.

Analysts remain optimistic about JD, following better-than-expected financial results last week, as Mizuho maintained a "buy" with a price target of $90. Benchmark also maintained a "buy" rating, while Susquehanna maintained a "neutral" rating.

EV maker Xpeng is set to report its first-quarter earnings on Monday.