Why Alibaba And Other Tech Stocks Are Rising In Hong Kong Today Despite Weak China Data

Shares of U.S.-listed Chinese tech companies rose in Hong Kong on Monday, lifting the benchmark Hang Seng Index into positive territory after two straight days of losses.

Why Is It Moving? The Hang Seng Index was up almost 1.5% in a truncated session at the time of writing, amid optimism about further policy easing by Beijing.

Data released on Sunday showed China’s factory activity growth slowed in January as a surge in coronavirus infections impacted production as well as consumer spending.

The country’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for January declined to 50.1 from 50.3 in December, Reuters reported, citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Meanwhile, the Caixin China General Manufacturing PMI — a private survey of small businesses — fell to a 23-month low of 49.1 in January from 50.9 in December.

See Also: How To Buy Xpeng Motors (XPEV) Stock

What’s Moving: U.S.-listed Chinese tech companies traded mostly higher.

• JD.com Inc. JD – up 4.1%
• Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA – up 3.5%
• Tencent Holdings Limited TCEHY – up 1.4%
• Li Auto Inc. LI – up 0.7%
• Baidu Inc. BIDU – up 0.6%
• Xpeng Inc. XPEV - down 1.8%

The Hong Kong stock exchange will pause for trading at mid-day on Monday and remain closed until Feb. 3 for the Lunar New Year holidays.

One of the most-prized real estate projects of heavily indebted property developer China Evergrande Group EGRNY was recently seized by creditor Oaktree Capital Management, the South China Morning Post reported.

China Evergrande said in a regulatory filing that it is seeking legal advice to protect its legal rights and is also in active discussions with the lender on resolving the matter.

Shares of Chinese companies, including electric vehicle maker Nio Inc. NIO, closed mixed in U.S. trading on Friday even as the major averages in the U.S. ended sharply higher in another volatile session.

China’s forthcoming rules on overseas IPOs will also apply to Chinese companies that plan to list in Hong Kong, as per a report by CNBC, citing the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

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