Alibaba Gains 1%, JD Sheds 2%: Hang Seng Opens Lower As All Eyes On US Inflation Data

Hong Kong shares were mixed on Tuesday morning, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down more than 0.1%, as investors looked ahead to crucial U.S. inflation data that will decide the course of further rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. 

Shares of Alibaba rose 1.5% in opening trade, while those of JD.com lost over 2%.

SoftBank Group Corp.’s SFTBY shares fell over 4% in Tuesday morning trade in Japan after the firm announced a ¥2.33 trillion ($17.23 billion) loss in its vision fund unit during the June quarter, mainly led by a slide in share prices of portfolio companies due to growing fears of an economic recession.

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Macro News: After China slapped trade curbs on Taiwan last week in the wake of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island, a finance ministry official in Taipei said the economic measures may not have a major impact on trade between the two economies, reported Bloomberg. 

Despite Beijing softening its tone on achieving the broader national targets for growth, half of China’s provinces are still holding on to their regional economic growth targets for the year the South China Morning Post reported.

The Philippines registered a trade deficit of $5.84 billion in June as imports surged, reported Reuters, reflecting the widest gap since January 2020.

Company News: Chinese tech giant Tencent is reportedly planning to shut down its content creation app Kandian next Monday as part of efforts to boost efficiency.

Details about Tesla Inc TSLA rival XPeng Motors' flagship SUV G9’s interiors have been revealed ahead of the firm’s rumored plans to start taking pre-orders this week, reported CnEVPost.

Amid increasing costs, Meituan is set to raise the prices of its bicycle-sharing passes by as much as 50%, reported Yicai Global.

Global Markets: It was a day of surprises for Wall Street, as weaker-than-expected earnings dragged shares of NVIDIA Corporation NVDA by over 6%, while downbeat sales and profit forecast led Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR stock to plunge 14%.

Indices ended mixed on Monday, with the Nasdaq closing 0.1% lower, the S&P 500 losing 0.12% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending on a flat note, as investors turned their attention to U.S. consumer price index data due on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia’s ASX 200 was trading flat on Tuesday morning. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.8%, while the South Korean Kospi shed 0.26%. China’s Shanghai Composite index was down 0.15%.