The commodity markets remained volatile during the Asian trading session, with Hong Kong stocks declining. The Hang Seng Index opened 289 points lower and extended its losses, dropping as much as 879 points to reach an intraday low of 26,507 points. It closed down 611 points, or 2.2%, at 26,775 points. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 236 points, or 2.5%, to close at 9,080 points, while the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 191 points, or 3.4%, to end at 5,526 points. Total market turnover for the day amounted to HKD 347.886 billion.
Gold and silver prices continued their decline. Shandong Gold (01787.HK) fell 12.6%, while China Silver (00815.HK), Zhaojin Mining (01818.HK), China Gold International (02099.HK), and Zijin Gold International (02259.HK) dropped between 7.9% and 8.6%. Zijin Mining (02899.HK) slid 5.6%. Resource stocks Jiangxi Copper (00358.HK) and Minmetals Resources (01208.HK) fell 8.6% and 7.5%, respectively, while Chalco (02600.HK) and Luoyang Molybdenum (03993.HK) declined 6.6% and 4.7%, respectively. Brent crude futures dropped more than 5% during the Asian trading session, with PetroChina (00857.HK) and CNOOC (00883.HK) falling 3.6% and 4.8%, respectively. Coal stock China Shenhua (01088.HK) projected a minimum 6.3% drop in net profit last year, resulting in a 5.1% fall in its share price, while China Coal Energy (01898.HK) slipped 4.2%.
The rebound in the US dollar triggered declines across real estate stocks. Jinmao (00817.HK), Greentown (03900.HK), Sunac (01918.HK), and Vanke (02202.HK) retreated between 5.2% and 6.8%. Steel producer Maanshan Iron & Steel (00323.HK) and cement producer China National Building Material (03323.HK) fell 7.4% and 10.1%, respectively. Local property developers Sun Hung Kai Properties (00016.HK) and Sino Land (00083.HK) dropped 4.3% and 3.7%, respectively. New World Development (00017.HK) stated that potential investments did not intend to trigger a full takeover offer, causing the stock to plummet 12%.
China Mobile (00941.HK), China Unicom (00762.HK), and China Telecom (00728.HK) adjusted their VAT on telecom services from 6% to 9%. China Telecom and China Unicom fell 5% and 6.3%, respectively, while China Mobile dropped 2.3% to close at HKD 78. Several automakers reported monthly sales figures, leading to declines. BYD (01211.HK) saw its new energy vehicle sales decrease by 30% year-on-year and 50% month-on-month last month, while XPeng (09868.HK) reported a 34% annual drop in sales last month. BYD and XPeng plunged 6.9% and 6.8%, respectively, while Leapmotor (09863.HK) and Nio (09866.HK) fell 5.3% and 4.5%, respectively. Xiaomi (01810.HK) and Li Auto (02015.HK) declined 1.2% and 2.3%, respectively. Great Wall Motor (02333.HK) projected a 21.7% drop in profits last year, causing its shares to fall 4%.
In the technology sector, Tencent (00700.HK) and JD.com (09618.HK) fell 1.2% and 1.7%, respectively, while Meituan (03690.HK) dropped 2.4%. Kuaishou (01024.HK), Baidu (09888.HK), Alibaba (09988.HK), and NetEase (09999.HK) declined between 3.5% and 4%. Additionally, Meitu (01357.HK), Bilibili (09626.HK), and Weimeng (02013.HK) fell between 4.7% and 5.8%, while GDS Holdings (09698.HK) dropped 7.2%. AI-related stocks Paradigm Intelligence (06682.HK) fell 6.6%, while XtalPi (02228.HK) and Insilico Medicine (03696.HK) dropped 4.6% and 4.2%, respectively. MINIMAX (00100.HK) and Unisound (09678.HK) rose 10.7% and 5.5%, respectively.
In the semiconductor sector, SMIC (00981.HK) fell 4.2%, while Novosense Microelectronics (02676.HK) and Biren Technology (06082.HK) declined 6.2% and 5.7%, respectively. Innoscience (02577.HK) and Hua Hong Semiconductor (01347.HK) dropped 8.7% and 11.2%, respectively. ASMPT (00522.HK), a chip equipment manufacturer, fell 3.9%.
In the financial sector, HSBC (00005.HK) and AIA (01299.HK) both fell 1.4%, while Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (00388.HK) dropped 1.9%. Mainland Chinese equities followed global markets lower. Insurers China Taiping (00966.HK), PICC Property (01339.HK), ZhongAn Online (06060.HK), and China Life Insurance (02628.HK) fell between 3.4% and 4%. Brokerage firm GF Securities (01776.HK) declined 4.5%. In other stocks, Macau’s January gaming revenue grew 24% year-on-year, surpassing expectations, driving Sands China (01928.HK) up 4.1%. Pharmaceutical stocks CSPC Pharmaceutical Group (01093.HK) and Sinopharm Group (01177.HK) fell 4.7% and 5.3%, respectively.
