Tencent Stake-Cut In Meituan Sends Hang Seng Down Over 2.5%: Alibaba, EV Shares Take A Hit

Hong Kong stocks opened in the red on Thursday, with the benchmark Hang Seng losing over 2.5% in morning trade, following news of Tencent cutting its $20 billion stake in Meituan. The latter has said it would maintain its mutually beneficial business relationship with Tencent post the divestment, reported Reuters.

Shares of Meituan fell over 6% while Tencent shares declined more than 3%. Alibaba fell over 5% while EV shares also witnessed a sharp sell-off.

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Macro News: The Cyberspace Administration of China said on Wednesday it would revise its rules that will require operators of online and social media accounts to strengthen their review and management of comments on their pages, reported Reuters.

China’s largest oil companies asking for Beijing’s help to keep Russian imports flowing following fresh sanctions on Moscow that will kick in next month, reported Bloomberg.

U.S. regulators got "good access" in their review of auditing work conducted on New York-listed Chinese firms during a seven-week inspection, reported Reuters.

Company News: Tencent Holdings Ltd TCEHY said on Wednesday it would return capital to shareholders via a dividend distribution of its $20.3 billion stake in food delivery firm Meituan as its sales decline for a second straight quarter, reported Reuters.

NIO’s flagship sedan ET7 received five stars in Euro NCAP and Green NCAP ratings, reported CnEVPost.

Top Gainers and Losers: Meituan and Alibaba Health Information Technology Limited are the top losers among Hang Seng constituents, having lost over 5%, respectively. Country Garden Services Holdings Company Limited and Longfor Group Holdings Limited are the top gainers, having risen over 4% and 1%, respectively.

Global News: U.S. futures traded in the green on Thursday morning Asia session. The Dow Jones futures were up 0.02% while the Nasdaq futures gained 0.1%. The S&P 500 futures were trading higher by 0.04%.

Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, Australia’s ASX 200 was up 0.03%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 0.37% lower, while China’s Shanghai Composite index fell 0.81% and South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.21%.

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