Alibaba, Tech Peers Drag Hong Kong Shares Down For Fourth Day — What's Fraying Investor Nerves?

Shares of U.S.-listed Chinese tech companies slumped in Hong Kong on Wednesday and weighed on the benchmark Hang Seng Index, which extended losses to a fourth straight day.

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The Macro Factors: The Hang Seng Index pared gains after opening higher and was down 2.1% at press time.

Worries about a surge in inflation due to the energy crisis stemming from the Russia-Ukraine war weighed on the market. U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a ban on Russian oil imports.

U.S. crude oil futures gained 2.1% to $126.41 per barrel in Asian trades on Wednesday.

Surging COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong also dampened risk appetite, with a Bloomberg report saying that it plans to open more isolation facilities for the elderly and has asked China to send medical teams.

China’s producer price index (PPI) rose 8.8% year-on-year in February, but eased from a 9.1% growth in January, Reuters reported, citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics. Consumer prices climbed 0.9% in February, unchanged from a month earlier.

Companies In The News: Morgan Stanley analyst Eddy Wang lowered the brokerage's price target on e-commerce giant JD.Com to $85 from $98, but kept an 'overweight' rating on its stock. The analyst noted that JD.Com delivered much more resilient revenue growth than its peers in 2021.

Elon Musk-led Tesla Inc. TSLA reported lower sales of China-made vehicles in February but was able to weather the industrywide softness fairly well compared to its Chinese rivals.

Shares of Chinese companies, including electric vehicle maker Nio Inc. NIO, closed lower in U.S. trading on Tuesday after the major averages ended in negative territory.

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