Alibaba Falls Over 3%, Nio Plunges 6%: Hang Seng Opens Weaker As China COVID Curbs, Earnings Season Fray Nerves

Hong Kong shares opened in the red on Friday, with the benchmark Hang Seng falling 1.5%, as mixed earnings prompted traders and investors to pare positions before the end of the week. Warren Buffett-owned BYD Co BYDDF BYDDY along with three of China’s top lenders are scheduled to report their earnings today.

EV shares plunged on Friday with Xpeng falling over 10% in morning trade, while Li Auto and Nio shed over 6%. Shares of Alibaba lost over 3%, while Tencent, Baidu and Meituan fell over 4%.

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Macro News: Cities in China ranging from Wuhan in central China to Xining in the north-west are doubling down on COVID-19 curbs, reported Reuters.

According to an annual survey, optimism among U.S. businesses in China has declined to record low levels, dragged by competitive, economic, and regulatory challenges along with the ongoing zero-COVID policies, reported Reuters.

Company News: NIO is reportedly set to permit owners to swap battery packs for different capacities in China, according to CnEVPost.

Neta Auto, owned by China's Hozon Auto, has partnered with NVIDIA Corporation NVDA, to use the chip giant's smart driving chip, reported CnEVPost.

Top Gainers and Losers: Longfor Group Holdings Limited and Country Garden Services Holdings Company Limited are the top losers among Hang Seng constituents, having shed over 7% and 6%, respectively. WuXi Biologics (Cayman) Inc. and CK Infrastructure Holdings Limited are the top gainers, having gained over 5% and 2%, respectively.

Global News: U.S. futures traded mixed on Friday morning Asia session. The Dow Jones futures were up 0.13% while the Nasdaq futures lost 0.68%. The S&P 500 futures were trading lower by 0.37%.

Elsewhere in Asia Pacific, Australia’s ASX 200 was down 0.85%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.29% while China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 0.81%. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.1%.

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