Why Alibaba, Nio And Other Chinese Stocks Are Falling Today

Shares of several Chinese stocks including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA, NIO Inc NIO and Baidu Inc BIDU are trading lower Monday amid a COVID-19 outbreak in the country which has caused some business operations to cease.

What Happened: Major Chinese cities are scrambling to reduce operations following what is reportedly the worst COVID-19 outbreak in China since 2020. 

All businesses in Shenzhen, the biggest city in the manufacturing-focused Guangdong province, were told to suspend services and production or have employees work from home temporarily. 

Shenzhen has only reported about 400 confirmed cases since the end of February, but the rapid increase in cases over the last few days has authorities rushing to contain the outbreak.

Shares of several other U.S.-listed Chinese tech companies are falling. Several stocks plunged in Hong Kong Monday, pulling the Hang Seng Index sharply lower.

Related Link: Alibaba And Tesla Rivals Nio, Xpeng Plunge In Hong Kong Today Amid Worries Over New COVID-19 Restrictions In China

What Else Happened: According to multiple reports, citing U.S. officials, Russia has asked China to provide military equipment to aid in its invasion of Ukraine. American officials have said there are signs that Russia's military is running low on weaponry.

Russia also reportedly asked China for additional economic assistance to help push back against widespread sanctions, which have been imposed as a consequence of Russia's military actions.

Tencent Holdings Ltd TCEHY is also facing potential fines after its WeChat Pay mobile network reportedly violated anti-money-laundering rules and failed to comply with other business regulations.

BABA, NIO, BIDU Price Action: At publication time, Alibaba was down 5.34% at $81.95, Nio was down 3.61% at $15.49 and Baidu was down 4.76% at $113.17.

Photo: courtesy of Alibaba.