Hong Kong stocks fell sharply in the first trading since US president Donald Trump announced tariffs on Chinese goods, as investors hoping for an auspicious start to the Year of the Snake instead faced the prospect of a renewed trade war.
The Hang Seng Index lost 1.8 per cent to 19,853.62 at 9.50am – the biggest drop in a month – as the market opened after a three-day break. The Hang Seng Tech Index lost 2.4 per cent.
Mainland stock exchanges remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday and will resume trading on Wednesday. The MSCI China Index, a gauge tracking 581 Chinese companies listed at home and abroad, lost 0.1 per cent in January.
Technology giant Baidu plunged 6.8 per cent to HK$81.80, electric-vehicle maker Li Auto slumped 5.7 per cent to HK$86.70 and clean-energy distributor ENN Energy weakened 3.7 per cent to HK$50.60. Casino operator Sands China lost 4.7 per cent to HK$17.72, while peer Galaxy Entertainment declined 5.1 per cent to HK$31.55.
Limiting losses, chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International, known as SMIC, advanced 5.1 per cent to HK$39.95, and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding jumped 3.1 per cent to HK$91.05.
The US Federal Reserve last week kept its key interest rate unchanged, meeting the expectations of traders.
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